Privatizing America

From the continental congress of 1776 to the battles of WWII, Americans served their country, fought its battles, educated the next generation and were generally proud to do so.   That tradition started to fray with the Vietnam war and the rise of military contractors who were paid by the government, but did not serve in the same sense as enlisted or conscripted soldiers.  On a parallel track in civilian life, an alternative to the public school system started to grow.  The rise of charter schools, religious schools and home schooling led to calls for revenue to be diverted from public education.   In both the military and education spheres, private profit has played a large part in the call for more privatization.  The Trump administration is providing proponents private enrichment at public expense with even more opportunity.  With Betsy DeVos as secretary of education and her brother Eric Prince getting into Trump's inner circle we can expect many more military and education millionaires to be minted between now and 2020.  What this does to the social fabric will also become apparent.  Many people decried the discontinuance of the selective service draft because it divorced the population from the military.  The same could be said for the public school system if charter advocates get their way.  Both campaigns aim to alienate ordinary citizens from their government.  What happens when an entire generation matures with little or no connection to the principles of service to democracy?   We may be about to find out.