Bedrock

Do a Candidate’s Character, Faith, or Values Really Matter? “ I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. ”—Martin Luther King, Jr. Forty years after his death and nearly 80 after his birth, I wonder what Dr. King would have to say about the progress we have made toward fulfilling his dream. In the 45 years since he gave his now famous speech, those four children live in a different nation, but is it the one their father hoped would come? I suspect he would be disappointed on many levels. I do believe that skin color is much less of a barrier, and that far more Americans see the person. Unfortunately, the leaders who have succeeded him use skin color to gain support for programs that have twisted his dream and politicians, who want the support of his people, make promises in a manner that says that character is not the chief value they hold.

Ignorance is bliss, or so it seems. According to the LA Times, American 15-year-olds know less science than many of their counterparts abroad, but they think they’re smarter. The Times writes , “ This is the real trend in American education. No one can match us when it comes to self-esteem. So what if American students ranked 21st out of 30 industrialized nations? So what if we're even worse in math—25th ?” Not only that but “ Test analysts found that the less students knew about science, the more optimistic they were that the challenges of global warming can be overcome .” I’m sure if we asked, the educators and bureaucrats would tell us we need to spend more money on schools , teachers, and technology. Of course, the reality is that the more money we’ve spent, the poorer the results, unless we’re counting self-esteem. I’m sorry, but in my world, self-esteem comes from excellence, competing and out-performing, and being the best you can be. Believing you’re s