America is a nation which was built on the ideals of freedom. Freedoms to hold an opinion wither it be one of the majority or the minority. Freedom to peruse the path to prosperity by many diverse means. That same freedom upon which this nation was built and sustained can only be upheld with the presence of two factors. The first factor is defense. American has always been willing to fight for its freedom, from our separation from Great Britain during the American Revolution to our current involvement in foreign affairs American has always been at the forefront of defending not only our freedoms as a nation but the ideals for freedom worldwide. The second factor in preserving freedom is education. As Americans for century's we have had the idea that the key to success is knowledge. Knowledge is power and with power comes the prosperity of control. Defense and education are both important in America, not only from an idealistic standpoint, but also from both a political and financial standpoint. The importance of these two factors brings forth a very interesting question in the construct of American society. Which factor does America as a nation value more finically defense, or education?.
This question is complex in nature because a majority of average American citizens, politicians and policy makers alike would claim that they are both equally as important as the other for the overall wellbeing of the nation. Although the question is complex the answer to this question can be found not in words but through the actions of our nation. There are four main factors to focus on when attempting to answer this question. The first is funding, how much money as a nation are we spending on defense and education? Although money spent is not always a concrete sign of overall importance, it does however help lay the frame work to find the answer to this question. The second thing to look at is policy making.