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Education and Privileges

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Education and Privileges
Do all Americans have equal rights and privileges? As years pass, sufficient education is becoming a more and more important necessity. Does the amount of education a person have determined the rights and privileges they get? Should this happen? How is someone determined to be uneducated or uneducated? The word “uneducated” can have a different meaning depending on the situation. “Uneducated” in most cases refers to adults who are illiterate, or adults who have not completed high school. “Susan B. Anthony stated in a 1873 speech that it might be acceptable for the educated to be given more rights and privileges by society than the ‘ignorant’ or uneducated.” This statement of Susan B. Anthony is completely justified, and the fact that the educated might get more rights than the uneducated is truly acceptable. Suppose the word “uneducated” refers to adults who do not have a high school diploma. Uneducated people do not take advantage of their rights although they are granted the same rights as every other citizen. For example, the statistics voting shows that only 37% of the uneducated people in America voted in 2004, as 67.75% of the educated people voted (Baum, Payea). It is arguable that these statistics show that the uneducated receive less rights than the rest of society as their voice is not strong in government if compared to the rest of society. However, the right to vote is given to every citizen, but it is the citizen’s responsibility to take the time to vote if they want their opinion to count. The uneducated society is not making an effort to vote as statistics show that the percent of the uneducated society that votes decreased greatly from 1992-2004. 45% of the uneducated society voted in 1992. This number decreased by 7% in 8 years (Baum, Payea). If uneducated people wanted to vote, the percent would have increased over the years. The educated get a greater right of voice in government than the uneducated, but this is adequate as the uneducated are


Cited: Baum, Sandy, and Kathleen Payea. "Education Pays." Collegeboard. Collgeboard.com, 2005. Web. 16 Jan. 2013. www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/.../education_pays_05. pdf>. Kozol, Jonathan. Illiterate America. Garden City, NY: Anchor/Doubleday, 1985. Print. Illiteracy and Natural Rights. Unesco, 1969. Web. 13 Dec. 2012. .

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