America..the land of "American Idol" and "Housewifes of ________(fill in the blank)". Do you prefer to watch these shows instead of reading and learning something new? Apparently, for a significant number of people the answer is a resounding "Yes".
The minority portion of American's who still crave knowledge from the print world, it seems to me, are better able to sort out illusion from truth. The idea that it was on TV so it must be true does not become a viable response in the world of the literate. The majority, absorbed in their "non" reality world are often taken in by the manipulation, so skillfully thrown their way, of the mainstream media.
It is impossible to categorize the difference in those who are literate and those who are illiterate. This is not a race, class, rural, urban, or faith issue. Those groupings all have people from both sides of the literacy table. There are 42 million American adults, 20% of whom hold high school diplomas, who can't read. Yet the literacy that I am concerned about also involves the preferences of those who can read. It is this portion of the technically defined, literacy class, choosing to be illiterate, that I am concerned about.
Why does this bother me? Because a free-thinking nation, one that encourages creativity and individualism, will be increasingly hard to develop when its minds who are able, choose to be manipulated. I challenge you to use your mind, read from all sides of different thinkers, form your own opinions, and encourage others to do the same. While I do not consider this issue to be a political one, I do want to suggest that literacy will allow all of us to make informed decisions the next time we enter the voting booth. Lets not automatically vote for the incumbent because his/her ads looked better during "Are You Smarter Than a Ffith Grader". Lets not just vote for the candidates who speak the best. Lets all make it a point to decide what we believe in by being well informed. Then dig a little deeper and make voting the great responsibility that it is.
The greatness of our nation will be depending on us all to become much more literate.
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