We have discovered as a species that it is useful to have an educated population. You do not need to be a student or have a child who is a student to benefit from public education. Every second of every day of your life you benefit from public education. So let me explain why I like to pay taxes for schools, even though I don't personally have a kid in school. It's because I don't like living in a country with a bunch of stupid people. Best wishes, John Green. In Japan, nationalism meant modernization, largely inspired by and in competition with the West.