[THREAD]

Socrates' greatest fear of a representative democracy was that the voters would not be informed enough to make a constructive choice.

His fear has been realized.

The appointment of GW Bush, who lost that election in 2000, was a big, big part of that.

1/

His cabal of corrupt conservatives, such as Darth Cheney & Donald Warsfield, led us down an abyssal, perilous path toward intractable war, a security state, normalization of torture and hydraulic fracturing w/o much regulation at all. Wholesale exploitation & destruction.

2/

They helped make Trump's presidency possible, because they gutted education, and in particular science -- as we were pushing toward a STEM-driven economic order.

Simultaneously, they incentivized religious extremism among the Christian right.

3/

One reason so many in these so-called red states were 'left behind' was due to the negligence of their republican party.

Thee total lack of foresight. The future was right there, before their very eyes. With every fight against stem cells, or other breakthrough research.

4/

Those same angry, ignorant masses voted for Trump -- and so many didn't vote at all, disillusioned and disenfranchised.

It's time that we turn the tables, and a big area of focus, in my view, needs to be education.

5/

Estonia is a humble country in Eastern Europe that teaches children in the single digits of age about robotics, coding, and advanced computer science concepts. As a rate they have some of the most capable population for the STEM economy.

6/

We should aspire to take a model resembling that of Estonia: education that focuses on opportunity.

While not neglecting the need to teach core constructs like civics, and *actual* history so we can learn from our mistakes.

7/

An educated population means a stronger economy, but more importantly, a higher quality of life for our population.

It means having better leadership and a more engaged citizenry in our government's management of our country's affairs.

We must make education a priority.

8/8