what's an education? GET ONE.

i'm finding it hard to swallow the accusation that bill cosby is treacherous to his ethnic group because he abhors the fact that there are certain sects of it that espouse their ignorance as though it were an anthem. this affliction does not encompass the entirety, and it is not purely the province of that singular group--i don't wish to be labeled racist here. but the fact is that there is a large group of people (of all colors) who appear to have no care whatsoever about the fact that they can't construct a proper sentence, or read; there are many who take pride in it, revering media figures who demonstrate the same lack of erudition and thus perpetuate the problem. and--and this is what gets me--many refuse to accept that it is that apathy that is keeping them down. it is not 'the man' that is keeping them poor and humbled; it is their own ignorance.

i agree with the remarks that cosby made several weeks ago, and for which he has been lambasted since--if you don't learn to read, or to speak properly, you don't get the luxury of blaming society for your failure to advance, to get a job, to do what you want in life. this goes for everyone, in every ethnic group, in every economic bracket. you don't need an expensive education to get ahead. you don't need to go ivy league, or get a phd. plenty of people do just fine with a high school education; some with even less. but these are almost all people who have learned that in order to advance, they needed to be able to read, and speak: skills that can be gleaned through even a partial basic public education.

perhaps i'm a snob. after all, it's all well and good for a middle-class white girl with a college degree from a respected institution and a well-rounded upbringing to bang on about literacy and the need to speak properly. and of course i'm preaching to the choir; if you're a blogger, or a blog reader, presumably you have learned how to interact with words in such a way that you can turn them to your advantage. but it infuriates me to see, interact with or hear about people who have the raw material that it takes to get where they want, but prefer to leave it to fester in pits of apathy and rage and then blame society for their failings. and, more importantly, give up and resign themselves to this life that they loathe. because it's a waste. a waste of energy and a waste of talent.

ignorance is not an anthem. it is nothing to be proud of. and i think bill cosby is right. and maybe i'm an elitist. maybe i'm not being realistic. but in addition to not understanding how people can be allowed to make it to adulthood without being able to read--PARTICULARLY in this country, still unquestionably the richest in the world, which SHOULD be able to support at least that most basic of educational infrastructures--i can't fathom how anyone would be content going through life without such a wonderful skill.

but then, i do have an irrational love of words. and an education.