【正文】 s lesserknown languages are being lost as fewer and fewer people speak them. The governments of countries in which these languages are spoken should act to prevent such languages from being extinct. The speaker asserts that governments of countries where lesserknown languages are spoken should intervene to prevent these languages from being extinct. I agree insofar as a country39。s rainforests can set into motion a chain of animal extinction that threatens the delicate balance upon which all animalsincluding humansdepend. Also consider that a financial crisisor a political crisis or natural disaster in one country can spell trouble for foreign panies, many of which are now multinational in that they rely on the labor forces, equipment, and raw materials of other nations. Environmental, economic, and political problems such as these all carry grave social consequencesincreased crime, unemployment, insurrection, hunger, and so forth. Solving these problems requires global cooperationwhich a global university can facilitate. Notwithstanding the foregoing reasons why a global university would help solve many of our most pressing social problems, the establishment of such a university poses certain problems of its own, which must be addressed in order that the university can achieve its objectives. First, participant nations would need to overe a myriad of administrative and political impediments. All nations would need to agree on which problems demand the university39。 accordingly, by assisting large cities a government is actually helping to create a global culture as well to subsidize the traditions of other nations39。s claim is actually threefold: (1) ensuring the survival of large cities and, in turn, that of cultural traditions, is a proper function of government。 thus I think this view is realistic. Another reason why I essentially agree with the speaker is that fully disclosing to the public certain types of information would threaten public safety and perhaps even national security. For example, if the President were to disclose the government39。s children in mind. Secondly, an official, federally sanctioned curriculum would facilitate the dissemination of propaganda and other dogma which because of its biased and onesided nature undermines the very purpose of true education: to enlighten. I can easily foresee the banning of certain text books, programs, and websites which provide information and perspectives that the government might wish to suppressas some sort of threat to its authority and power. Although this scenario might seem farfetched, these sorts of concerns are being raised already at the state level. Thirdly, the inflexible nature of a uniform national curriculum would preclude the inclusion of programs, courses, and materials that are primarily of regional or local significance. For example, California requires children at certain grade levels to learn about the history of particular ethnic groups who make up the state39。 rationale for their seemingly oppressive rules and policies teenagers can learn how certain behaviors naturally carry certain undesirable consequences. At the same time, by listening to their teenagers39。s typical television or radio talk show, disagreement usually manifests itself in meaningless rhetorical bouts and shouting matches, during which opponents vie to have their own message heard, but have little interest either in finding mon ground with or in acknowledging the merits of the opponent39。s scientists and governments. And ultimately it is our philosophers whose expertise helps provide meaning to what we learn about our universe. In sum, no area of intellectual inquiry operates in a vacuum. Because the sciences are inextricably related, to advance our knowledge in any one area we must understand the interplay among them all. Moreover, it is our nonscientists who make possible the science, and who bring meaning to what we learn from it. Issue 5 A nation should require all its students to study the same national curriculum until they enter college rather than allow schools in different parts of the nation to determine which academic courses to offer. The speaker would prefer a national curriculum for all children up until college instead of allowing schools in different regions the freedom to decide on their own curricula. I agree insofar as some mon core curriculum would serve useful purposes for any nation. At the same time, however, individual states and munities should have some freedom to augment any such curriculum as they see fit。s claim overstates the importance of video records, at least to some extent. When it es to capturing, storing, and recalling temporal, spatial events, video records are inherently more objective, accurate, and plete. However, what we view through a camera lens provides only one dimension of our life and times。s motives and agenda. History informs us that wouldbe leaders who lack such forthrightness are the same ones who seize and maintain power either by brute force or by demagoguerythat is, by deceiving and manipulating the citizenry. Paragons such as Genghis Khan and Hitler, respectively, e immediately to mind. Any democratic society should of course abhor demagoguery, which operates against the democratic principle of government by the people. Consider also less egregious examples, such as President Nixon39。 big cities are where we deposit, display, and boast the world39。s most persistent social problems. Nevertheless, such a university poses certain risks which all participating nations must be careful to minimizeor risk defeating the university39。s social problems, and the escalating costs of addressing these problems, a global university makes good sense. And, since all nations would have a mon interest in seeing this endeavor succeed, my intuition is that participati