Better Education is Key to Healthy Society

From a talk by the Lubavitcher Rebbe on 19 Kislev 5742 (December 15, 19’81):

Government is responsible to use its authority to promote the rule of law and protect the welfare of its citizens. Ultimately, law and order can be maintained when people fear the government. But relying on fear tactics means that otherwise, there would be chaos.

In matters of physical health, there are two possible approaches. One way is to wait until a person is sick and then seek out a cure. A more effective way is the preventative approach. This requires taking care of your health in the first place by living a healthy lifestyle.

The same is true of society’s health. The government struggles to muster funds to build more jails and hire tens of thousands more police, lawyers, and judges to impose law and order through fear. If government would put a fraction of that money toward improving public education, how much suffering would be prevented!

Public education should not just teach students information. It should also instill in them proper moral values. [Those are historical values based on the Seven Universal / Noahide Commandments]. It’s a proven fact that communities who have focused their resources on proper moral education in schools have significantly reduced crime and government spending.