My late mother was right about a lot of things but wrong when she cautioned that anticipation is always better than realization.

That might be the case in some situations, but our family’s long-awaited trip to the new Hosmer Visitor Center at the United States Air Force Academy this past week exceeded expectations. The gleaming 34,000-square-foot facility, located just outside the North Gate, has been open since May. We’ve watched it rise over the last few years, admired the aviation-inspired architecture as it took shape, and have been looking forward to seeing inside.

Even with just over $110 million to develop the land and build out the new structure, it’s a monumental task to capture the magnificence of the historic 18,500-acre campus that houses some of America’s best and brightest. But from a friendly welcome at the door to a historical pictorial timeline to uniforms behind glass and plenty of video and images featured on bright and engaging digital displays, you receive a condensed but solid sense of the 47-month Academy journey of a cadet.

Annapolis, Maryland hosts the Beaux-Arts buildings of the United States Naval Academy. West Point, New York is home to gothic stone structures. The Coast Guard Academy overlooks the Thames River in Connecticut, and the Merchant Marine Academy is set on Long Island’s picturesque “Gold Coast,” popularized by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, “The Great Gatsby.”

By contrast, the Air Force Academy is quietly tucked into our foothills on what was once mostly undeveloped ranch land. Some of it was also home to the pioneering towns of Edgerton, which had a hotel, and Husted, which had a saloon, church, and church school. An Air Force team traveled 21,000 miles in the late 1940s and early 50s, considering hundreds of other locations before settling on the current site.

There are plenty of inspiring stories and quotes featured throughout the new center. My favorite isn’t attributed to any one person but instead is listed as “The voice of cadets” – “Things don’t get easier, we just get better.” Whether a cadet, a colonel, or a civilian, it’s a good reminder that life tends to favor those who are willing to regularly work hard.

There are two quotes that take up nearly an entire two-story wall, and one is familiar to fans of the Academy. It’s from the late Lieutenant Colonel Austin “Dusty” Miller. Since 1958 it’s been featured on the “Eagle and Fledgling” bronze statue in the Academy’s Air Garden:

“Man’s flight through life is sustained by the power of his knowledge.”

It’s easy to see why that has long resonated with Air Force personnel. After all, it’s from an accomplished officer, invokes an aeronautical metaphor, and evokes a noble sentiment.

One problem: It’s really not accurate.

Knowledge is important, of course. We need to know what we need to know – the facts and figures, skills and theories. And after 47 months, cadets undoubtedly know a whole lot. But just knowing all the right information won’t cut it in life. Instead, what will sustain you through this mortal journey is wisdom.  What you desperately need is the discernment to help you make the important decisions when the rules are either not obvious or nonexistent.

Most of our country’s problems aren’t rooted in a lack of knowledge. We know things – lots of things. In fact, never before in the history of the world has so much information been so readily available. With our phones, we hold entire libraries in the palm of our hands.

What we’re suffering from is not a lack of knowledge, but an absence of wisdom and an overabundance of foolishness. At the root of this cultural shift is a growing secularism. It was King Solomon who stated thousands of years ago that “The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” This doesn’t mean we’re to be scared of God, but instead to revere, respect, and sit or stand in humble awe of Him.

It was the late English preacher Charles Spurgeon who succinctly observed, “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge.” He then added, “To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal and are all the greater fools for it.”

Thankfully, the Air Force Academy does an exceptional job of recruiting, educating, and training young men and women who are both knowledgeable and wise.

Paul J. Batura is a local writer and founder of the 4:8 Media Network. He can be reached via email at Paul@PaulBatura.com or on X @PaulBatura.