Education of our leaders... god help us all

So this is kind of something that has been bugging me. There are no requirements whatsoever needed to become a politician. Now it helps to get you elected, but there are no requirements.

Now you would think the leaders of the greatest country in the world would at least have a good education behind them, as they are running the entire country and every decision they make impacts about 317 million people and thats not even counting international issues.

So question: should a minimum education requirement be set for politicians?

Minimum standards are supposed to come out in the vetting that is the political election process but no, there should not be a minimum educational requirement. Education doesn't make one smart or wise nor does it build character or instill morals. We need better class of people, wiser people who do things not for their own selfish political careers but for the betterment of the people they represent.

Some of the best and wisest people I knew only had 8 grades of education.

Ockham said:

Education doesn't make one smart or wise nor does it build character or instill morals.

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I'd disagree with that. It doesn't always work obviously, and it certainly isn't necessary for one to have advanced education to be smart or wise. But as a whole I think it increases the overall level of each of those things in society.

JJB3333 said:

So this is kind of something that has been bugging me. There are no requirements whatsoever needed to become a politician. Now it helps to get you elected, but there are no requirements.

Now you would think the leaders of the greatest country in the world would at least have a good education behind them, as they are running the entire country and every decision they make impacts about 317 million people and thats not even counting international issues.

So question: should a minimum education requirement be set for politicians?

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No, there should not be a minimum education requirement. People should be able to decide for themselves whether or not they believe a candidate is qualified for the office.

I can't for the life of me think of a college dropout that currently holds an office of any significance. What exactly brought on this sense of panic?

The reality is ....there is no consistency on this. When it's .."your guy"...education won't matter ...and when it's not ...that's all you'll care about.

Take Obama for example ...there are people out there still wanting to see his grades. And these are the people who voted for Bush.

And we saw that experiment in California where white kids felt grades was ultra important for college admissions when it came to all other groups except Asians. When it came to Asians they suddenly claimed grades wasn't that important.

So the bottom line is ...education will ..."sometimes"...matter.

JJB3333 said:

So this is kind of something that has been bugging me. There are no requirements whatsoever needed to become a politician. Now it helps to get you elected, but there are no requirements.

Now you would think the leaders of the greatest country in the world would at least have a good education behind them, as they are running the entire country and every decision they make impacts about 317 million people and thats not even counting international issues.

So question: should a minimum education requirement be set for politicians?

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i could see a minimal world history requirement. we go to war far too quickly, and often, those wars are not unprecedented. it would help if those pushing the buttons had some historical perspective of what the outcome and consequences might be.

Ockham said:

Minimum standards are supposed to come out in the vetting that is the political election process but no, there should not be a minimum educational requirement. Education doesn't make one smart or wise nor does it build character or instill morals. We need better class of people, wiser people who do things not for their own selfish political careers but for the betterment of the people they represent.

Some of the best and wisest people I knew only had 8 grades of education.

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Most politicians make the connections that lead them to be politicians while attending expensive colleges like Yale or Harvard.

I've never doubted Obama or Bush were educated. If anything, they were too proud of their scholastic achievements while their abilities and decision making processes were less than excellent.

The "better class" doesn't become attracted to politics. Politics are so immoral and corrupt that no ethical person would even consider that as a career. It's pretty much well educated low-lives that get into politics.