“What we do with the children decides what they will do with the nation,” we add, and there is never a dissenting look or voice.
We affirm that the greatest work the state can do is to develop citizens. Perpetuity of the state is synonymous with perpetuity of the race. This is supposed to be Nature’s dearest desire—to perpetuate the race.
So it should be the dearest desire of statesmen, politicians, to perpetuate the state, and the state is the aggregation of its citizens.
We are in a dense fog with regard to the value of citizens.
We say that man is all. This is lip-service.
Politicians are interested in acquiring and holding power, in war appliances and armies. They give some assistance in the development and care of vegetables, fruits, trees, and the flora in general. They are also interested in the development of all domesticated animals, the preservation of the birds, forests and natural parks, the protection of the fish. They have game-laws which are wise and whose results are beneficial.
And the state hires and pays people to take care of all these interests. It also hires and pays people who see that the laws are respected which have been made for the protection and perpetuity of flora and fauna.
But as yet, lawmakers, politicians, reformers, and influential citizens have not made provision for the development of citizens, except as the institution of the school system assists in this work.
