Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

I want to stress that I do not come from a wealthy family and although I know they will support my decisions, I am also aware of the burden I am placing on them and cannot help but think of the potential cost of my indecisiveness.  

  While the field that I have chosen for myself is engineering, my true passion seems to lie in politics.  I have always been told that I should go into politics or political science, but my whole life until the past few years has revolved around science and engineering.  Unfortunately it seems that just when I began that, for which I thought I was destined, I realized how boring and unfulfilling it truly was for me. Yet I find myself in a quagmire filled with grave uncertainties and serious consequences, the greatest of which I believe may stem from my own inaction.
    Possibly the worst dimension of this situation is that I seem to be totally alone in my views and can find little or no support amongst peers.  I cannot believe this is true.  I find it utterly impossible to think that millions of students are not having similar problems given the nature of the system as I have seen it.  How can adolescents, half way through high school possibly have such a solid idea of what their life should be like?  I assert that they do not but are pressured to make hasty decisions and are subsequently put on the fast track towards whatever profession they have felt obliged to gravitate.  
    This illustrates a disturbing trend in many of our institutions to essentially "Manufacture" or "Produce" a good, effective product (in the form of educated workers) for companies, many of whom sponsor co-ops for students that often end up being hired by those very same businesses.  Do not think for a second that I am bashing co-ops, on the contrary, I believe it is by far the best way for students to get their "feet in the door" so to speak.  It is my observation that problems arise when extensive and mandatory co-ops (as RIT is famous for implementing) are combined with a rigorous culture of inflexibility and result-oriented education by "teachers" who only "teach" because they are required to in order to conduct research at the school's facilities, the result is a culture intolerant to flexibility and abhorrent to well-roundedness and even fairness.  A friend of mine once told me of a meeting he had with his academic advisor to file a complaint against an incompetent professor, it was during this meeting that he was given the line, "There is no such thing as a bad teacher, only bad students."  My friend's complaint was promptly ignored.
    I would not post this here if I thought that such a problem was non-existent outside the confines of this particular campus.  Although I may represent a perfect storm of situations, which have ironically resulted in the worst doldrums I have ever experienced, elements of this are widespread and continually worsening.  These include:

1.)  The ever-increasing tuition of colleges and other establishments of higher learning.

2.)  High pressure environments in high schools where students are pushed to make major decisions about their lives before they are even allowed to begin living them.

3.)  The increasing difficulty and specialized nature of many technical careers, allowing little time for students to explore other areas of study.

4.)  The increased levels of stress and competitiveness in the workplace.

    I added that last one as an important side note.  It is widely known that offices across America are becoming more and more competitive due to an abundance of workers and a loss of good jobs due to outsourcing, the economy, etc.  This puts even more pressure on young people to stick with a decision they may have since begun to regret.  After all, "if I can't stick it out in college, how could I possibly last in the real world?  If I quit now I am just resigning myself to mediocrity or failure for the rest of my life."
    I'm not sure how long this kind of thing has been going on and I'll admit I have found little substantive research to back up my claims.  Nonetheless, I speak out of my own experience with higher education and welcome any facts or statistics that shed additional light on the subject.  One interesting tidbit I've been made aware of is in regards to the rising tuitions all over the nation.  It seems that we can, at least partially, thank the Reagan Presidency for redefining a college education as a private rather than a public good for the reason that college graduates tended to make more money than non-graduates.  Although I suspect ulterior motives after hearing him claim that the state "should not subsidize intellectual curiosity" while demanding 20% across-the-board cuts to government funding of higher education and calling for an end to all free tuition to state college and university students.  According to many analysts, this compassionate attitude may have helped set the stage for some of the policies and practices that have caused this absurd explosion in the cost of tuition today.
    I am most fortunate to be able to attend college and to have a chance at doing well for myself, but I feel strongly for the millions who are not able to enjoy that privilege as I am.  True, that I may be struggling at the moment with decisions I made in order to get here, but it is imperative I not forget to be thankful for the ability to make such decisions at all.  I can only hope that our government and school systems will one day see the error of their ways and once again define the ability to a college education as a fundamental right held by Americans of all walks of life regardless of financial background or family influence.  I hope for a new system that values the mind, not the pocketbook, which strives for the academic excellence of students by promoting flexible programs and well-roundedness that will serve to educate the individual and expand the horizons of those who, out of ignorance or fear, have become so sure of their place in the world.  It is no less than our duty as a nation to ensure that this is done.  What we need is an educated public, not simply job training for the sake of employment or even the economy but for the greater good of our culture and society.  I ask you, what bad can possibly come from the widespread availability of knowledge?  What evil so great can emerge as to justify the theft of our sacred American dream from those simply unable to afford it?  This evil, ladies and gentlemen, this vile, blood-spewing, malicious wretch that cripples us so when it comes to providing for others that which we thoughtlessly give to ourselves, is none other than the concept of basic human fairness.
    Although for some in power, that may just be the most dangerous policy of all.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EDIT: OK, WHO LEAKED THIS TO MY ADVISORS??!!!