Recently a company named Akamai Technologies, well known their cloud delivery platform, just completed a large data report on mobile and wired internet speeds plus other useful data all across the world. The list contains a few surprises especially for Americans, mostly because the United States is not even near the top of the list in some categories that most would expect the United States to be leading in. For example with mobile data the United States is not even in the top 30 for mobile data internet speed, even the small African country of Kenya ranks higher than the U.S. The question is how can the United States, the richest country in the world, be slower and weaker in the field of technology despite all the resources at its disposal.
Silicone Valley, for example, the biggest tech hub in the world is located here in the United States yet African countries like Kenya have faster mobile internet speeds? Sure it's a much smaller country but the United States is the richest country in the world. My point is that the U.S. is falling behind, we are not the leaders of the free world like we once were. Instead of being keepers of peace we are currently involved and fighting in seven different interventions around the world. Instead of being producing highly educated minds and genius talents the United States now has one of the lower educational systems around the world. Even smaller countries like Slovenia, for example, beats the U.S. in all three major educational categories, reading, math, and science. Need another example? Did you know thirty-seven percent of workers in Silicone Valley are foreign born, reason being is that American citizens can simply not do these kinds of jobs due to lack of education. Now even in technology, the United States is beginning to see its rank as number one begin to fall.
This should be a wake-up call to everybody on the importance of education and the need to improve our system dramatically. While faith may be important to some, children's time in school should be spent strictly focused on math, science, and history. America also needs to stop lowering educational standards to make sure enough kids pass. While it may seem cruel, setting a minimum bar can boost the focus of school work and stresses the importance of place in society. These building blocks would lead to more domestic scientists and engineers to boost our tech industry. The United States does not necessarily need to be number one, especially in every category as that is most likely impossible, however, since it is the richest country in the world a standard of its society stands out among other nations, and if the U.S. wishes to remain in that position if cannot fall behind in key dynamics such as technology and education.
