[MD] Value and the Individual

[craigerb at comcast.net]

[Arlo]
> What if we had one national army (or one national police force, etc), 
> but made support of it voluntary (charitable based, as you suggest 
> for education)? Would that work? 

First, one clarification.  I do not propose that educational funding be
"charitable based".  Instead it can be funded by the users plus alumni,
endowments, scholarships, employers, sponsors, etc.  Not all voluntary
contributions are charity.  Sponsors might do it for good will/promotion,
employers might do it to attract workers (as some do with pre-school
childcare), etc. 

Voluntary support of the military?  I don't know if their budget would
increase or decrease.  There was a lot of voluntary contribution after
Sept. 11.  If the budget decreased, maybe that would be a good thing.
The important point is that protection of the nation is a responsibility
of government & can legitimately be tax-supported.

[Arlo]
> "federal standards" are critical.

The Finnish school system has just over 900,000 students overseen by
its Federal school chief.  The largest school system in the U. S.  is New
York City's with just over 1 million.  Perhaps this is the ideal size, rather
than something massively bigger.

[Arlo]
> "Why" do we feel it is in the best interest of the child to 
> force their parents to "educate" them?   What is our goal?

You know my answer:  the goal is as varied as human beings are.
Why are any of the various goals valuable?  Because they prepare
the child for adult life--a responsibility of parents. 
Craig