I play games like Civilization and we get these tech trees and policy trees and such. And I can never help but wonder what it would be like to play these when the people of the territory act like Americans. You try to incentivize future technology and they push back. You try and prioritize education and they push back. There is always division and infighting.

Regardless, I don't think it would actually make the game more fun.

I mean that's kinda how Civ works already. Some civs get bonuses for education & research, others in combat, etc, and focusing on the things incompatible with your civ will "punish" you.

It sounds like you just don't agree with how they've implemented America lol.

So, "If only you could talk to the monsters" but at the level of this genre?

What would prioritizing education mean in Civilization? The game's model is fairly simple:

1. There are three resources: food, industrial production, and commercial activity;

2. As the player, you can divide commercial activity between three categories: research, state revenue, and local "luxuries", which in this context just means tax relief;

3. Scientific progress occurs when you've produced enough research to learn a new technology;

4. The only appearance of "education" anywhere in the game is that there is an expensive building called a "university" that increases local production of research. (The predecessor building with the same effect at a lower cost is the "library".)

On the other hand, "there is always division and infighting" is one of the most important and fundamental mechanics in the game; if your city grows beyond a quite small population cap, new citizens are automatically unhappy and will shut down the whole city unless pacified somehow.

Is this flamebait or what is your intention?

Why call out Americans like that? Do you think America is some homogenous entity?