It is understandable to consider a tax that directly benefits a specific segment of society as unfair. A balanced perspective with an eye to history might temper that instinctual reflex as it relates to the education of our children.

I purposely write “our children” because we all depend so completely on the generations to follow in ways that we often forget. Our children perpetuate the ideals that our civilization holds dear: democracy and sweeping freedoms that are easily overlooked exactly because they are so pervasive in our culture.

But our children do far more than honor our abstract commitment to a better world. In four short years, the youngest of our high school students will be counted upon to fight our wars, protect us from crime and fire at home, fund Social Security, staff our hospitals, and provide the energy that fuels the world’s largest economy.

The quality education of our children is the epitome of self-serving altruism. It is a responsibility that should unite us as a personal investment in the trust of our future.

Peter Hunt

Oak Harbor