When I think about my school days, I often feel, “I should have studied more.” There are many reasons. Sometimes I felt embarrassed because I did not know something. Sometimes I thought, “If I had known more, I could have done better.” And as an adult, I learned that studying can be fun. When I was a student, I could not think about these things.

I recently read How I Have Read Books by Akira Ikegami.

The book gave me a big surprise. I learned that the United States has a long tradition of anti‑intellectualism, and that one‑fourth of the people are Evangelicals. This was shocking to me.

I had the image that “America is a very logical country,” so these facts were unexpected.

Anti‑intellectualism in the U.S. does not simply mean “disliking knowledge.” It often means not trusting experts or elites. Many people believe that “our common sense is more correct.” When this feeling mixes with strong religious values, people look for a leader who protects their world.

Evangelical Christians read the Bible literally and value traditional family ideas. They support politicians who protect these values. When I learned this, I thought, “This is why Donald Trump became president,” and it made sense to me.

All people try to live well in the limited time they have. But what we believe and what we learn change the choices we can make. This made me think deeply about the importance of education.

People are free to choose what they study. However, if the national level of education is low, this freedom is not real freedom.

When educational inequality grows,

• some people can learn and others cannot
• the difference continues to the next generation
• society loses a “common language”
• emotional politics and division become stronger

Education is the foundation that keeps society stable. When I look at anti‑intellectualism in the U.S., I can see how a weak education system can shake a whole country.

This is not only an American problem.

In the recent election in Japan, I felt something similar. People who study and people who do not. People who read books and people who do not. People who read newspapers and people who do not. It feels like the number of people who do not read is increasing.

Education gives us the power to choose our future. Learning is important for each person, but also for society. So I believe that protecting an environment where everyone can learn is essential for the future of our society.