so maybe I like picture books...

…and maybe I like to go to fast food restaurants because I like to see what my food (should) look like before I order it, but I definitely do not consider myself illiterate or anything of the sort. Yet, as I sat and read Hedges’ article “America the Illiterate,” I kept coming across words that I didn’t know, and I kept having to reread entire sections because I didn’t understand something. So, that got me thinking: what if Hedges is right? What if our society really is as bad off and in such a critical shape as he is making it out to be?

According to the article, around 92 million Americans are illiterate or barely literate; that is nearly a third of our population. That seems pretty critical to me. I suppose that is like saying that 1 in every 3 people can’t read, or can’t read as efficiently. You really can’t expect to have a functioning, successful society when that many people don’t know what is going on because they can’t even read and understand the world around them. Hedges feel as if the American Public is powerless because so many people are illiterate; therefore, they are not able to be active and contributing citizens to their society.

The way that some Americans are finding to just get by in the world contributes to the growing illiteracy rate and can somewhat be compared to Carr’s view of the internet. Carr believes that the Internet is prohibiting and hurting Americans because it enables us to have a quick and easy answer and way to or for anything; sort of like a cheater when it comes to actually using your brain to investigate something and put effort toward gaining knowledge. Just as illiterate people have found ways around not being able to read, again, like a cheater. Picture books, fast food menus, and visual signs are all ways of making the illiterate’s life easier; all mechanisms that have been created and do not promote any desire to learn to read.

Maybe America isn’t quite as bad as Hedges makes it out to be. Maybe the truth isn’t so devastating in reality. I know I certainly was skeptical of this article as if seemed too vicious at first. However, the troubling part is that America really is struggling, our economy really is failing, politics are more corrupt than ever, and the people simply can’t do anything about it because many just don’t understand.