Well, I'm almost half-way through my honors American history course.  I'm really glad I took this class instead of a regular history course; I'm learning so much more than I would if I'd chosen the latter!  It's a lot of hard work, of course, and homework takes up a good deal of time, but it's definitely worth it.

I'm beginning to see more and more how important education is, or should be, to people.  Whether the cause of ignorance is willful or financial, a lack of education can be detrimental in any society.  Back in the Dark-Middle Ages (I can't quite remember at the moment   ) when the Pope was higher in power than the king, literacy was limited to the elite and the scribes who copied the Bible.  The Bible was limited to the hands of the clergy because copies were hard to hold (i.e. the monks could only copy so much so fast) and because nearly no one could read -- what's the use of owning a Bible if you can't read it?

Most of the people were devoutly religious (in this case, Catholic), but trusted in the clergy, who partook in lavish lifestyles.  Since they couldn't read the Bible, they couldn't question the Church; and the less they questioned, the more power the pope had over them.  If a king upset the pope, the religious official could issue an interdict (banishing a king AND his kingdom from any and all religious ceremonies until an apology is issued); an interdict would outrage the public, and the public would look down upon their king, possibly even rebel.

Once the printing press was invented, however, Bibles could be readily and efficiently printed; and the number of Bibles throughout Europe grew exponentially.  Now that a Bible was available for the common folk, more people learned how to read.  Some people read the Bible, looked at the actions of their clergy, and noticed contradictions between what the clergy taught and what was in the Bible; one such person, Martin Luther, started the Reformation with his posting of ninety grievances with the Catholic Church on a Catholic church door.

Education is very important if one views history:  in the case of the Catholic Church, it led to the Reformation.  Education can most likely inspire questions in an individual; the individual, then, may seek a resolution to the question.  Education can also lead to freedom -- in a representative democracy such as that of the United States, it is essential that voters be informed of their candidates' views; voting just because the candidate has a nice smile can be detrimental to the nation, and is acute irresponsibility.

Well...I may or may not come back and edit a bit of this...I may have scrambled my words a bit here and there, as my brain isn't quite ticking, today.  Well, happy first week of April, all!