When the successful general ran for President, he was elected and jumped right IN on building roads all over the USA and consolidating the 1940's and earlier one room and small town school houses/buildings.
We developed a pledge to our flag and America was more unified in operation as ever before.
We really ran with the advances of the Industrial Age and better communications.
My #4 was a knee jerk response to the idea of "equalizing" and in MY mind that boiled down to "re distribution" which I find in Common Core and all the previous attempts to make children 16" on center.
I sometimes (more as I age and befuddle myself) have thoughts that I blurt out hoping someone may see some value, instigate conversation and I can then get some sleep a lot quicker because I will have determined I'm either nuts or sane.
There is something to be said about “educational leveling,” I make no doubt. There is “leveling up,” a la Khan Academy - “a free world-class education for everybody” - and there is leveling down, which is nominally the same, but is really just grade inflation and worthless paper degrees.