Prof. Lyles: With Education as Our Common Ground, Let's Overcome Fear and Begin to Heal
November 6, 2020
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Writing in the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer, Alan Lyles, the Henry A. Rosenberg Professor of Government, Business and Nonprofit Partnerships in the University of Baltimore's College of Public Affairs, writes that the time has come for the country to overcome its fears, embrace education, and begin the process of healing its fractured politics.
A native of Rockwell, N.C., Lyles says he was born into a large family where education was nearly universally feared or ignored.
"In my small-town family, anger long ago replaced conversation and shattered us," he writes. "One source of that anger was fear—fear of education (which few of us had), fear of material loss (but poverty was rampant), fear of the outside world.
"My grandmother's fears echoed through our family. There's no way around it—learning frightened my grandmother more than any threat, leaving her in a fog of prejudice and superstitions."
But an aunt and his mother differed with other family members about Lyles's future potential, and she urged him to be serious about his schooling.
"How is it that my aunt, who had experienced similar loss and poverty, came to a different conclusion? She would tell me to get as much education as I could, since 'They can't take that away from you.'"
Prof. Lyles, who teaches in both the School of Health and Human Services and the School of Public and International Affairs in UB's College of Public Affairs, is internationally recognized for his research in pharmaceutical economics and health policy, including improved access to life-saving medicine and procedures.
Lyles writes that the nation will benefit from an embrace of education and a rejection of fear.
"Today, what I can do is listen to people who have the same fear-based world view," he says. "I can understand the source of their fears, even if I don't share them. We can share a space fit for our common humanity."
Read Prof. Lyles's op-ed in the Fayetteville Observer.
Learn more about Prof. C. Alan Lyles.