Think About This - Self-Education

"The United States, a Republic composed of individual Republics, will best maintain a disposition to liberty and justice by each being composed of an autonomous populace; only a people united by their differences may be indivisible."

Education: It has many designations--pedagogics, teaching, learning, inculcation, et cetera, yet it has only one true purpose; to draw out knowledge, or more precisely, draw out the ability to achieve knowledge; two separate aspects of the same primary term. Unfortunately, the former is quite rampantly mispracticed most of the time without any attention to the latter.

On the most part, popular education is the science of memorization, or, applied knowledge. If you sit back and merely absorb what is offered to you by someone else, you will enjoy all the advantages of a popular education. You will be taught what you must know and remember to fit into society, make money, and keep up with current perceptions of erudition; and in the end, this is all you will have. Simply because this is all that may be conveyed and gained by such means. I will admit, such things are helpful to us, yet the ability to achieve true knowledge, which is considerably more significant, is left aside; perhaps because it is more complex and time consuming within a typical classroom atmosphere.

First of all, the conveyance of the rudimentaries of self-education may only be possible if apperceived by the resident pedagogue. If not, even the best intentions would be exhaustive and futile.

True knowledge, as true education, cannot be applied or given from one person to another as a baton in a relay race; true knowledge must be personally reconciled within the mind. Although the knowledge itself may be universal, the processing of it is quite unique to the individual. Therefore, the only person who may utilize such unique processing to its zenith is the individual involved; hence the necessity of self-educating.

I am not advocating homeschooling here, I am pointing out the requirement of self-education, even in the event of attending an institute. You see there is a distinct difference between homeschooling, which is learning at home, and self-education, which is learning on your own, not necessarily alone, but on your own.

In any event, the task must ultimately fall to the student.

Your education is not the responsibility of any other person but you. Although you may be assisted through the process of your learning, you are the one who must actually make sense of it all, retain the acquired knowledge in proper perspective, and apply it when most useful throughout your life. Furthermore, self-education never ends, or should never. It keeps the mind virile and maintains perpetual conation.

What I am attempting within this article, is to inform the otherwise uninitiated abecedarian of her/his personal obligation; this invisible necessity of life, which, if unaware of, would not be immediately missed and perhaps never known.

The rewards of self-education are varied and considerable. Once you are well practiced in the art of teaching yourself, you will acquire {unless already achieved} self-confidence. Self-confidence is one of the cornerstones of character. With it come self-respect, self-reliance, and an independent spirit.

When you consider the brief and insignificant span of life we all have within the World we know, it could be argued that our own education, or, the ability to teach one's self, is the single most important achievement for us to accomplish after procreation. Still, the most important area of procreation is the education of those conceived...Perhaps then, they go hand in hand; without the one, there is no chance for the other, without the other, the one would be in vain.

I previously referred to self-education as a personal obligation; although the act is personal the requirement is not just.
This leads us to the meat of my immediate ambition.

Consider the probability that a nation of self-reliant people would naturally render a self-reliant nation. Moreover, imagine the United States a self-reliant Republic comprised of such citizens. This is not so difficult a task, since it is how our country actually began.

Now consider the current national problems, and what comes to mind?

1. Rampant self-righteousness.
2. An unwholesome paranoia regarding international affairs.
3. Severe economic difficulties.
4. The general disregard of our national Constitution by our government.
5. A portentous division among the people.
6. The idea that at least four of the above five are due to a highly deficient and overall nonrepresentative government.

These maladies do not give the impression of self-reliance, nor do they indicate a general self-confidence among the individuals involved; quite the opposite.

If you are under the impression that these problems will be resolved on their own, or by other people than yourself and I, think again. This country is our responsibility, every citizen's responsibility. Whatever comes to pass will be a direct result of us, what we do, or, more importantly and precisely, what we do not do. A status quo attitude and the idea that it is someone else's fault, are what have depraved our nation and advanced it to the current precipice. And the delusion that one may simply ignore such responsibility and so not be affected by what is going on is just that, a delusion.

The surest method readily available to us for redressing the current situation may be found in education and reeducation for and of the people. Simply because the many problems the United States are plagued by, may each be traced directly to the people; our ignorance, our disinterest, our lack of self-accountability.

Our Education determines;
1. How we live.
2. How we think.
3. What we do.
4. What becomes of us.
5. How we affect those around us.

Therefore, if we self-educate, we each maintain the best possible grasp on the ever effectuous elements of our life and the World we live in. And, as the above five determinations represent the principal enduring contributions we may offer to God, mankind and our family; self-education should not be taken lightly or for granted. After all, accountability for one's self and one's actions though magnanimous, is not always mellifluous.