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In making a better world, it is easier to build correctly from the outset, rather than tear down and rebuild—hence proper education of our young is the surest path towards realizing a brighter future.

We begin with a cosmic ideal, and then we apply it to the local situation. In the application of Neohumanism there will be some variations. Variety is the law of nature. Variations arise due to changes of time, place and person. If I were to go to Peru for this conference, it would be a different place, with different people, and upon my arrival it would also be a different day. Our Neohumanist schools reflect, and should continue reflecting these natural variations. The variations are good and should be encouraged. For example, if I were to open a school in Caracas, it would not look like my school in New York. It would have a different appearance and a new name. There would be different curriculum elements, revised methods, and a new staff, but the spirit behind it would be the same.

Though the rebels came within a few meters of capturing Pérez, they failed. The military high command arrested Chávez and ordered him to tell the rest of his men to lay down their arms. Wearing his military uniform and red paratrooper beret, this unknown lieutenant-colonel was put in front of live television cameras for 72 seconds so that he could order all his men to surrender. What he said electrified the nation. Invoking the liberation hero Simón Bolívar, Chávez assumed full responsibility for the failure, which almost no Venezuelan leader had ever done before. Then he said that the objectives of this movement were not achieved "for now". As he went to prison, he had suddenly become a national hero to millions who realized that these soldiers were not hungry for power, rather they were risking their lives to save their country. A group of 62 retired generals ran full-page advertisements in newspapers attacking the government and supporting the coup leaders. In his cell Chávez began receiving hundreds of letters a week from supporters.