As I sit here in front of my computer as a typical adult, perhaps one with a Springfield Armory XD(M) as the wallpaper to my monitor, but a typical adult nonetheless, I reflect upon both our country and next month's election.
Aside from all of the McCain versus Obama rhetoric out there, I'm beginning to have serious thoughts about 'We the People' -- we're the ones that matter and I don't like how we are.
For example, one of the reasons that I have chosen to go back to school is because, well, I want to make a difference in the world. I want to defeat the enemies of the United States and make it permissible for people -- Americans or otherwise -- to travel in peace and harmony.
Having said that, as we face an enemy known to fly crowded airliners into equally crowded office buildings, I wonder why I have to endure an entire course designed to teach me the "proper" way of formatting assignments that will never see that structure again once I leave the course. If I position my name on the right hand side of the page instead of the left hand side seems of less importance than whether I can draw my gun ambidextrously.
Segue into that 'debate' with the 25-year-old "college-educated" man who suggests that I lack an education because I do not possess a piece of antique parchment hanging upon my wall and therefore am not smart enough to understand that I'm supposed to vote for Obama. Would a college degree make me somehow better protected when I travel to the local store, or gas station, or hotel? Personally, I feel that it would be more advantageous for my business customers (and competition!) to see framed target paper with the 'eyes' and 'heart' neatly drilled out than another piece of paper that attests to my intimate knowledge of philosophy. I'd rather shoot eloquently than speak so.
And what of business education? Does our world require us to always espouse 'win-win' negotiations? What if the competition is keen on devouring your "free enterprise"? What if a hostile government takes over their country and you find your business confronted by people who wish to take away everything that you've earned? Do we simply say "When in Rome..."
Of what is more important, algebra or instinct? Do you analyze the trajectory stats of a particular cartridge or do you go out onto the range and see where you can place consistent shots?
None of these questions have anything to do with next month's presidential election, but they have a great deal to do with us citizens of this great nation of ours. Where do our priorities lay? Are we self-reliant or will we always entrust that "someone" else will be there to provide for us and "change" our future for the better. Don't we have a profound stake in everything we do?
I don't know about you, but I'd rather live free like an animal than be reined in as a 'civilized' person. My spirit is much too strong to worry about whether my last name comes first or not. 
An education is knowledge gained, not information repeated ad infinitum.
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Most adults I knew in the past that went back to school were stuck in lackluster, low-paying jobs.
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