I straddle a unique perspective of North American education. I am the descendant of uneducated farmers, but the son of an engineer. My nerdy father left the sma

I straddle a unique perspective of North American education. I am the descendant of uneducated farmers, but the son of an engineer. My nerdy father left the small town life to get educated and become an engineer. Now I live in a family of nerds amidst a sea of extended family who are all rather poorly educated. I watched as my cousins cared more about ski-doos and video games than they did about their math homework. Unsurprisingly, they didn't get far academically and now as they are approaching their adult life, are struggling to be employed and do not like their job prospects, the same as their parents did before them. Meanwhile, me and my siblings were eagerly pushed to pursue education. Curiosity was ignited at every opportunity to encourage us to think hard and explore big ideas. This has paid off in spades for our family. Innovation, thinking, and exploration are often pre-cursors to success. Seeing my extended family (and their friends) justify their uneducated views of the world, hearing their bigotry, listening to their hatred against "smart people". It hurts my soul. Knowing that my extended family out numbers my close family 5 to 1 by family size makes me worry about the future of our society. These ignorant folks are voting with their wallets, ballots, and social media voices. What does that say about the future of North America? What does it say about the changes we need to make to enlighten our people for the future?