Knowledge is power

So the U.S. wants to spread democracy throughout the world? Here’s an idea: Help build more libraries. \nWhile the idea of spreading literacy and knowledge may sound quaint and useless to many when discussing national security, it is not. Its importance lies with the fact that knowledge and literacy are crucial for alleviating poverty and disease. As college students, we are often overwhelmed by the amount of information at our fingertips. We have access to millions of books and Internet connections are at every corner. There is almost no end to the information we have at our disposal. \nBut to many in this world, especially in such crucial areas as the Middle East and Africa, access to books and information is limited, if not completely absent. This has been called the “information divide,” and it separates those with a chance at success from those with a chance at nothing but hunger and despair. Along with their lack of influence and material resources, the lack of literacy and marketable skills for these poor workers all over the world creates an environment that breeds extremism and desperation. These are not good precursors to democracy and oftentimes lead to dictatorships and corrupt governments. \nWhile tanks and guns have their part in promoting freedom, the tools of literacy and knowledge should never be underestimated. Thomas Jefferson once said, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” Ignorance and poverty are the enemies of democracies, and we should be fighting them with as much fervor and attention as we fight al-Qaida in Iraq and Afghanistan. \nLibraries help to fight illiteracy and ignorance in countless ways. They offer literacy classes that give people perhaps the most important tool they will receive: the ability to read. They help to educate people to prevent the spread of such diseases as HIV/AIDS, which is the leading cause of death in Africa. Prevention and treatment of these diseases are often not taught because of stigma and shame. But books and classes about AIDS and other diseases could help bring about a turnaround in this truly horrible epidemic. Libraries could also provide many in the impoverished world an opportunity to connect to the Internet, something most do not have access to since they cannot afford individual computers.\nIf the U.S. is serious about its fight to spread democracy in the world, it must stop thinking about it in purely militaristic terms and start concentrating on alleviating poverty and illiteracy. Perhaps the most eloquent statement ever made by President Bush – and surely there are not many – was that the United States seeks and supports “the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.” The growth of democratic movement depends on literacy and knowledge. Let us not forget to fight that battle.