• Thinking back, it has not been very long since women and people of color were even allowed to pursue an education in America. This degradation and social barrier was set up by the upper class so that they could not gain knowledge, and therefore could not stand on equal ground with white men and protest their oppression with logic and information behind them. And this is not merely an issue in America -- ignorance on a global scale harms millions of innocent people. Throughout history, the deprivation of knowledge has been a tool which dictatorships have used in order to shut down rebellions. Withholding knowledge from people makes it easier to keep them submissive and mislead them, since they don’t know any better. This can be and has been changed through education. By being able to educate myself, I have been given the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others throughout history. Education has allowed me to inform the ignorant around me of misinformation that has been spread through base and incompetent mouths. This is incredibly important to me when combating minority oppression. Adverse claims against race, gender, and sexual orientation can all be nullified by the spread of knowledge. As William Shakespeare wrote in Henry IV, "Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge is the wind wherewith we fly to heaven" (4.7.73-74). There is no knowledge without education, and with this education I am given the opportunity to deeply appreciate vastly different cultures than my own, understand and empathize with those who have less privilege than myself, and work to make the world a better place for those who have been displaced by war, poverty, and prejudice. True freedom is led by education, and an intelligent mass has far greater value than a prestigious educated few.