There's a quote I like that I think came from Marvin Minsky, "the US needs a Department of Homeland Arithmetic." We're protecting ourselves from all the wrong risks.
I don't understand why Marvin Minsky hates America so much that he wants to put the government in charge of assessing such risks. The government is an incredibly complex device for distilling a tiny amount of individual ignorance from each voter into a moonshine of batshittery.
Perhaps you have more effect by voting (i.e. switching) TV channels. The public opinion seems to be very important for government policy - and popular shows can be and are seen as a barometer for it, I guess.
Uh, wouldn't this actually be called something like "the US Department of Education"?
It's been a rousing success, too - it's allowed our Ministry of Truth to claim things like "comrades! Our production of students that pass the standardized test is up 85% this quarter!".
It's all about families, man. Good families teach people what's really important - not federal departments of anonymoustaxeatingbureaucrat.
People didn't worry about that (i.e. formal education systems) until only recently, but I guess what's "important" has gotten more complex and the rate of "dysfunction" has increased.
