【正文】 ity, or global level. At the personal level, by listening to their parents39。s educational system might defeat its own purposes in the long term. A national core curriculum would be beneficial to a nation in a number of respects. First of all, by providing all children with fundamental skills and knowledge, a mon core curriculum would help ensure that our children grow up to bee reasonably informed, productive members of society. In addition, a mon core curriculum would provide a predictable foundation upon which college administrators and faculty could more easily build curricula and select course materials for freshmen that are neither below nor above their level of educational experience. Finally, a core curriculum would ensure that all schoolchildren are taught core values upon which any democratic society depends to thrive, and even survivevalues such as tolerance of others with different viewpoints, and respect for others. However, a mon curriculum that is also an exclusive one would pose certain problems, which might outweigh the benefits, noted above. First of all, on what basis would certain course work be included or excluded, and who would be the final decisionmaker? In all likelihood these decisions would be in the hands of federal legislators and regulators, who are likely to have their own quirky notions of what should and should not be taught to childrennotions that may or may not reflect those of most munities, schools, or parents. Besides, government officials are notoriously susceptible to influencepeddling by lobbyists who do not have the best interests of society39。s ultimate interests. Nevertheless, we must not allow our political leaders undue freedom to withhold information, otherwise, we risk sanctioning demagoguery and undermining the philosophical underpinnings of any democratic society. One reason for my fundamental agreement with the speaker is that in order to gain the opportunity for effective public leadership, a wouldbe leader must first gain and maintain political power. In the game of politics, plete forthrightness is a sign of vulnerability and naivety, neither of which earns a politician respect among his or her opponents, and which those opponents will use to every advantage to defeat the politician. In my observation some measure of pandering to the electorate is necessary to gain and maintain political leadership. For example, were all politicians to fully disclose every personal foible, character flaw, and detail concerning personal life, few honest politicians would ever by elected. While this view might seem cynical, personal scandals have in fact proven the undoing of many a political career。s cultural traditions are preserved and generated. The speaker39。s distinct cultural traditions. After all, modern cities are essentially multicultural stew pots。 thus a useful insight or discovery can e from a researcher or student from any nation. Another pelling argument for a global university involves the increasingly global nature of certain problems. Consider, for instance, the depletion of atmospheric ozone, which has warned the Earth to the point that it threatens the very survival of the human species. Also, we are now learning that clearcutting the world39。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 participating nations would be able to overe whatever procedural and political obstacles that might stand in the way of success. As long as each nation is careful not to neglect its own unique social problems, and as long as the 。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。 big cities are where we deposit, display, and boast the world39。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 (a model of excellence or perfection) 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。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 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