STEM is great, but it’s time to CHILL

The community and the community schools should be congratulated on the STEM initiative of the last several years. That is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics curricula tailored for local students. A focus on such specialties will assure that our kids will be prepared for the 21st Century job market. Kudos to the innovators.

I think it is time for another such initiative. Call it CHILL. We all need to learn more about civics, history, ideologies, language and logic. Remember logic? You know, all beavers are rodents. Not all rodents are beavers. Civics? Congress passes laws; the executive branch enforces laws; the courts interpret laws. Sound familiar?

Whether you listen to talk radio, Fox & Friends or your nitwit brother-in-law, you know our public discourse is bereft of any sound thought or lucid speech. Charlatans fill the inevitable political vacuum and we call it leadership.

Being able to grasp the Pythagorean theorem is vital and timeless. So is the ability to truly understand what it means when a self-absorbed, amoral, real estate con artist attains public office. The rest is history.

Tim Boyle

Cedar Rapids