Helen Murosaki

August 22, 1942

HOW EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT IN PREPARING FOR PEACE

Our thoughts at the moment are absorbed mostly in what our future holds for us. How long is this thing called the duration going to last? Will it kill and destroy all we worked for, studied for, and lived for?

The mental preparedness to meet the threatening clouds with thunder and lightening flashing overhead will mean much determination, courage, and sensible thinking. In order to be prepared for peace, we must be well educated to meet and know how to overcome the many obstacles which will arise, also religion to help us over bumps when nothing seems to help, we can participate in some sort of recreation to take our minds away from everyday headaches.

Tonight, I would like to dwell on how education is important in the way of preparing for peace.

Education is a form of background in history of the world as well as of that of the United States. Study of the world history will enable us to understand some of the whys of this war, in this world of bitterness, class strife, economic chaos, and dictatorship. This is no time to be illiterate, this is no time to be ignorant of the world's affairs when history is being made by leaps and bounds. Read the daily papers, study weekly magazines, familiarize yourself with leaders of the world and how they came to power. George Washington believed that education was of primary importance in our democracy. In his Farewell Speech, he said, "In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion should be enlightened." Let us strive to get all of the education possible, thus becoming better prepared for the future. It is true that our opportunity for college education is very dark and far, but many of our great forebearers had very little facilities and opportunities, less than we have today at our least.

In these days of democracy, you need at least a high school education to become employed in almost all types of occupations. There are very few opportunity in which less education is required to become employed. You may ask what can we do? We have classes, but as yet we do not have trained teachers. There is one answer. That is self education. Many great men have reached the top of the ladder of fame because they had the will power and determination to become self educated, to become familiar and specialize in the field with whatever materials available in the best way possible. We must not lower the prestige of the Isseis who have toiled and sweated under very difficult circumstances under their own initiative so that we, the Niseis, will have some kind of foothold to ascend on.

In the beginning of our schooling, we began with merely the three "r's" -- reading, writing, and arithmetic, which is of great necessity in this era of turmoil. Without the knowledge of reading how can you be well informed in current news and many helpful hints of living printed in the various papers and magazines. Of course, you can always get them second-handed, but you are likely to miss facts that are of great value or of interest to you, which other can not interpret to you. You cannot go to your friends for facts and dates every time you want them to help you through problems of every day living and still be well informed. You must study and observe for yourself by the means of many printed materials available to you today.

We need to be prepared. How long this war will last, no one knows, but the important thing is to be prepared -- to be ready to conquer all problems, fight hardest against the enemies of our success and of our rights. Thus, we preserve the meaning of the individual freedom and democracy. We must not think that education alone will lend us through all of the detours in life, but let us consider it this way. Education with religion, recreation and unity will help promote a better world for us to live in. Let us say that education is equivalent to food for our minds, religion as shelter for our souls and recreation as clothing for our body, with cooperation and unity as other vital necessity of life to live the helpful, fuller and more successful life desired.