In response to the Holmes and Carnegie reports that call for educational reforms in the teaching profession, this paper argues that the financial support for these future reforms will be diverted to fund the research to combat the emerging national crises that ultimately will threaten national security. Describing the emerging crises in this paper as being internal threats of significant magnitude, they are: (1) the prospective food shortage; (2) the energy shortage; (3) the greenhouse effect; (4) the cost of decommissioning nuclear plants; and (5) the cost of AIDS. In addition, other crises are listed as being additional financial drains on the funds that would be used for educational reforms. To fight these crises and to prevent future crises, a societal transformation is required. However, research on U.S. society reveals that citizens are unwilling to give up their materialistic habits and have little interest in the self-denial or austerity that are needed to bring about this transformation. The admonition to U.S. society is then to live more simply, to preserve natural resources, and to build a new image for the future. (DJC)