Michael Sauers

January 26, 2025

I was not the best student but I was OK. My difficulties stemmed from lack of confidence and impatient, testy and annoyed teachers. My innate intelligence eventually overcame the negatives and, for most of my life, I flourished intellectually. This was especially true regarding empathy and activism towards social, community, environmental and economic justice issues.

Teaching came naturally. Immediately I identified a major problem in education. Putting aside all the nonsense that emanated from government and education “leaders”, it was obvious that a truly educated citizenry was not a priority. Why would it be? A critical thinking, independent, questioning citizenry would be very dangerous for the existing power structures. This was/is a powerful economic development tool that continues to drive public education.

Some of Pennsylvania ‘s public schools and education leaders were forced to sue the Commonwealth for what the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court decided was the unconstitutional funding system that Pennsylvania relied upon. The whole legal process took approximately 10 years with a ruling coming on February 7, 2023. The system has still not been made whole as the incompetence of the State Legislature and the Governor are on full display. The result is that students continue to be short changed as they have been for decades.

This scenario, which borders on criminal, is not unique to The Keystone State. In one form or another, public education has had a jackboot on its throat for decades. It is a local, state and federal problem. The result is a poorly educated citizenry incapable and unmotivated to do the hard but necessary work of community leadership. Citizens rely on elected politicians and we can all see were that has gotten us.

Enter Donald Trump who vociferously proclaims his love for the uneducated. They are easy to mislead. They are low hanging fruit ready for a pie dish. Trump plays on their insecurities whether economic, social, religious, ethnic, racial, sexual or intellectual. They are his admiring followers.

This demographic will go along with demonizing immigrants, eliminating regulations on all fronts, reducing government employment and therefore enforcement of laws, driving wedges between threatened societal groups and the mainstream, pushing the white christian hegemony and allowing a small group of people to push an economic model on them.

Educated people, community oriented people, diversity accepting people, interfaith people, accepting and tolerant people and omnists will be challenged by Trumps’s followers.

Trump will throw as much mud at the wall as he can. Some will just be red tofu for his followers. Some of his mud will not stick and he will blame anyone and everyone. Whatever mud sticks will be parsed, challenged, rejected, or accepted by thinking people.

I have been thanking my parents a great deal these days. They insisted on education, both formal and informal. We will be tested!