Most progressive countries of substance, make it their point, to educate their citizens, and often choose to do so at public expense, because they recognize that an educated population having received knowledge, is going to be more beneficial for the growth, greater achievement, as well as the sustainability of that country and its culture. Yet, as in many things, not all knowledge is equal, and further to the point, not all knowledge is beneficial for the people, especially when that knowledge is gained, without any corresponding ethics attached to it, that would thereby help to keep that knowledge constrained from doing damaging things to the public. In other words, knowledge can be a powerful instrument that in the wrong hands and of the wrong mindset, can inflict terrible and lasting harm upon civilizations, both domestic as well as foreign. This thus signifies that before significant knowledge is even imparted in the first place, a core curriculum of ethics must be taught, understood, and taken to heart, by the students of such, or else, without such ethics, those that are both clever and knowledgeable but lacking a good moral compass can easily create all sorts of nasty havoc.
Additionally, as much as we endeavor to seek knowledge of practical things, such as how to build a better cell phone, or how to provide better healthcare, and so on; there needs to be kept foremost in our minds that the particular knowledge that leads to being of benefit for humankind, is obviously diametrically different than the type of knowledge that is inimical for humankind. That is to say, we do know for a certainty, that there is good purposeful knowledge so obtained that with its subsequent application are from the get-go, pretty cut and dry; but also, we are cognizant that many a time, knowledge so generated and propagated, can subsequently be utilized or manipulated for either good or for evil. This thus signifies, that to the degree that such is possible, governments are instituted amongst humankind, to take responsibility that first and foremost, to see that the knowledge which is harmful to the general public, is regulated in a manner in which such is mitigated to the degree so possible, for all those with great knowledge, correspondingly also have great responsibility.
Finally, there is the very type of knowledge that all should desire to seek of, which fundamentally represents that search for the knowledge of the why of our existence, for in that search, we will obtain the wisdom of the ages. Humankind probably spends way too much time and energy on the pursuit of the kind of knowledge which is not at the end of the day, of any real utilitarian value or of merit, and oftentimes serves to direct us to a dead-end course. Rather, we need to make it our point to be far more discriminatory as to what knowledge that we faithfully pursue, and further, we need to be driven by the fact that through that good knowledge so obtained that we will not only help ourselves, but also, we will be able to provide meaningful guidance to others, for the right knowledge is always going to be that knowledge which is universally true, just, fair, and eternal.