WILLIAMSON March 10, 2014
FOR
U.S. CONGRESS
DEMOCRAT
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 6
480-607-9726
“The Future Can Be Ours!”
Dear Friend,
Education can be a means to succeed in the search for peace in our world.
Education can be the means to achieve understanding of such foreign
countries as China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and others. I agree with the philosophy that Madam Curie advocated in her quote: “Nothing is to be feared, only understood.”
Instead of stockpiling weapons, we should stockpile academic courses in
Chinese, Russian, and Farsi. We should attempt to understand the
viewpoints of other cultures at every opportunity. We should emphasize the
concept of interdependence among countries. We should take college courses
in the history of other nations whenever possible. We should look upon
Political Science as a respectable college major, and not just think that
courses of study in Engineering, Accounting, Business, and Science are the
only ones that have practical value. Understanding the viewpoints of other
cultures and, because of that, preventing wars, is practical. Take, for
example, Robert Gates, the former Defense Secretary who recently retired
from that post. He has a Ph.D. in Soviet History. He communicates well,
and his stint as Defense Secretary was, in my view, successful, as far as
dealing as well as anyone could with the responsibilities that he
shouldered.
I believe that the U.S. Congress needs to renew the National Defense
Education Act, first, in response to Sputnik, made law in 1958, which I
believe has expired. When I was an undergraduate, I had, at one point, a
National Defense Education Act (NDEA) loan. I had it when I was studying
Classical Languages at CAL Berkeley in the early ’70’s. We need to once
again give out student loans to college students on the basis of whether
or not their course of study supports our national defense. Defending our
country does not just consist of using physical armaments and weapons,
although they are indispensable. We must fortify our country with a strong
intellectual and conceptual education so that we can cope with the
divergent and sometimes malevolent attitudes of other nations. Strategy
and tactics in the military and any other field is a function of thinking,
and thinking is something education can develop. That is why we need
strong public schools adequately funded. In short, we’re going to have a
hard time standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his bullying
tactics unless we have strong public schools with a challenging curriculum
and high standards. We can do it; but we must not let down our guard and
become complacent.
If elected your congressman for Congressional District 6, I would vote to
renew the National Defense Education Act so that low-interest loans to
college students with majors that support our national defense could be
funded. This would include students majoring in critical foreign languages
such as Chinese, Russian, Farsi, German, French, Spanish and others that
have to do with our national security. Indeed, perhaps any student
majoring in any foreign language should, for the sake of fostering
international understanding, be eligible. (I myself can functionally speak
French, Spanish, and German, and know classical Latin and Greek.) Students
with majors in Computer Information Systems and Computer Software, that
would have to do with cyberdefense, would also be eligible. Our strength
as a nation depends upon our intellectual strength as an educated people.
Our intellectual strength depends upon the strength of our public schools.
“I support public education,” as I state in my Platform Positions on my
campaign website, “for a strong economy and a strong defense.”
If you would like to make a financial contribution to my campaign, please
check out my website at: williamsonforuscongress.com. Click on “Make a
Donation”; then, using safe and secure PayPal, you may donate to a
campaign that supports strong public schools so that our country will have
the strength and knowledge to stand up to the governments of nations such
as Russia who try to bully us or our allies. Donations are greatly
appreciated and help out a lot with signs, supplies, the website, and so
on. If you wish to circulate a nomination petition for me, please send me
an e-mail or call the above number, and I will send you some.
By renewing the National Defense Education Act, the Future Can Be Ours to
fight against the bullying tactics of authoritarian regimes in such
countries as Russia, China, and Iran. We cannot afford to be naive about
unfriendly motivations these countries may have towards us. At the same
time, however, by understanding their points of view, we may seize upon
mutual interests that we have with these sovereign nations and work
together on behalf of these mutual interests to establish trade
agreements, military treaties, and educational exchange programs that will
help us to succeed in our search for peace in the world community.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
John
W. John Williamson
Scottsdale, Arizona