This morning I finished the short novel The Pearl by John Steinbeck, which would mean I am only five books away from fulfilling my New Year’s Resolution (see Book It page for more info). I This semester provided me with a lighter reading load (insert fist pump), so I’ve had more opportunity to free read. Thus, ten books have been dominated and it’s not even April.
Back to The Pearl. At the end of the novella is a frightening little advertisement from Coalition for Literacy. It says:
By the year 2000, 2 out of 3 Americans could be illiterate.
It’s true. Today, 75 million adults…about one in three, can’t read adequately. And by the year 2000, U.S. News & World Report envisions an America with a literacy rate of only 30%. Before that America comes to be, you can stop it…by joining the fight against illiteracy today.
This edition was published in 1974. Assuming this ad was created around the same time the book was published, the Coalition for Literacy was forecasting a soaring illiteracy rate in only 26 years. That’s crazy. What if that were true? It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it? Society today moves at a startling pace. To survive, you must be able to read. You must be able to communicate, in a current fashion. If you can’t say it in 140 characters and a snarky hashtag, who is listening?
I suppose I am constantly amazed at how fast we are progressing, and I know I’m not saying anything new here when I lament that I don’t always believe we are moving in the right direction. With a jarringly accelerated pace to society and an increasing importance on the meta (“So-and-so is about to become a hyuge star with the release of her new movie”–but how do you know?! it hasn’t even happened yet!) it’s hard to ever really feel relevant.
But, I know I can be thankful for my literacy. Man, I am so thankful.
artwork courtesy of esolatwork.com
A Broad At Home 