A Call To Action

Ladies and Gentlemen, I want you to take note.

We are approaching a turning point in our society.  The world has shrunk to the size of my Macbook and now the whole world fits in my backpack.  Consequently, we are now in competition with the rest of the world over everything.  Right now, we're winning.  Congratulations, America.  One thing you have to realize, however, is that we've gotten lucky.

Who is carrying us right now?  Today, the younger generation is holding onto the coattails of the baby boomers.  They're the ones running the show.  There are two reasons for this:

1.) They are more experienced.
2.) They are better than their generation anywhere else in the world.

Over the past thirty years, America's ranking in education has been slipping.  We're now "middle of the pack" on a global scale and at the bottom among other first-world nations.

Pop Quiz:  What is the number one influence to building a nation's GDP?  Is it...

A.)  Low Taxes
B.)  Increased capital
C.)  Increased labor
D.)  Education

If you guessed D, you're correct.

Watch what happens next.  The baby boomers are in their victory lap.  They're retiring soon.  Once they're gone, it's up to us.  Our university-educated populace will take the reigns, but you'd be shocked who can slip through the cracks of a University.  We'll try our damndest, but we won't be able to keep up with other nations, because even though their kids went to the same universities our kids went to, their kids left with a much higher GPA and much more retention of information.

Where are we in Indianapolis?

Indiana is ranked 24th in the nation.  Just breaking the top half of American test scores.  We're no Alaska (46) or Arizona (50), but we have a long way to go before we can even be the best in a relatively poor nation academically.

What people don't realize is that whoever decides to take the education initiative seriously over the next decade is going to be the next superpower.  Both nationally and locally, we have to take this seriously.

Let's imagine this for a second... Indianapolis creates a new education initiative that will actually work.  We rise to the top of the nation and bring up the national average.  Suddenly, businesses start to notice and migrate.  Our economy booms and now the 13th largest city in the US becomes larger, richer, with more wealth to spread around.  If we get a system that works, we could become the new Empire State.

We can make everyone better off and improve the quality of life for all Hoosiers.  We're standing on the edge of history right now, and the choices we make today will define what language our great grandchildren will be doing business in.

There is one person who wants to keep that language English and put America back on top.  Brian Williams (not the NBC anchor) is running for mayor of Indianapolis.  This man is the one man who can give us hope for a successful tomorrow by fighting for it today.  As a member of the board of directors for IndyReads, Brian gets it.  He knows what we're facing, and he is willing to step up to the plate.

So tell me, Indianapolis.  Today, on the brink of history, who has your vote?