"Educated"

Maria over on www.intueri.org/index.php?paged=2 seems to think that education can solve most of the world's problems. I so completely disagree with this point of view. I think that education is so overvalued. Education is like age. It only brings out more of what you were already. As an aged wine either becomes superb or becomes vinegar, so an aged person either becomes sweet or sour. Well, education is the same way. If you educate me, there's a certain little tripwire in my brain that will always be listening for something that I can use to kill myself with. I will be making A's, planning a successful life, doing fantastically, but as soon as I find a way to kill myself, I won't necessarily do it, but the countdown will have begun. Things will have started to get serious. Well, my suicidal ideation is neither here nor there. I don't need saving at all. I'm actually doing absolutely remarkable things according to my therapist. If you give education to somebody with the internal propensity to be the Unabomber, no amount of education is going to change that. If I'm not wrong, the Unabomber was extremely educated. Teach people to think.

Maria said: Perhaps people would be able to change their perspectives with greater ease and engage in problem-solving. How can I effect change without resorting to strapping bombs to my chest? How can I influence the situation without killing other people?

Yes, but you only change your perspective when you have some reason to. If you think you're right, and your way of thinking is working for you, what point is there in trying to change perspective? If you educate people who are inclined to strap bombs to their chests, they will build bigger bombs that don't have to be strapped to their chests but can be simply placed in a car outside. Education is an amplifier.