Stimulating Reading

There’s a purpose
To the dumbing down of America, which is why the Founding Fathers were big on the idea of “Free Libraries”

I recently read something about Americans of the last 30 years being less literate and educated than the average American living at the time of the American Revolution.

As a kid, I almost never used our school library, though it actually was a good one, but I virtually lived in our small city’s public library from the time my school first brought us on a trip to the public library to have us apply for our own library cards. We had to walk about a mile, in a long line, with teachers at each end, and teachers on the sides until we arrived at the main branch of our public library, with our pre-filled out library card forms, signed by our parents, and we were allowed to take books out that first day. I don’t think I know any children who go to the library these days. I also know teenagers who have never heard of John Steinbeck, William Falkner, Ernest Hemmingway, Gertrude Stein. I mentioned “The Great Gatsby” to a first year college student working as a cashier at the supermarket last week, and he had no idea of what I was talking about.

I find it interesting that in the last eight years, there has been all sort of uproar and outrage about the place of Western Civilization and its history in the world, and not many people are even slightly aware of that history, its art or its literature. Those who shout loudest about Western Civilization seem to often be those who are most opposed to its greatest artists, scientists and philsophers. And most inclined to burn their works.

Do they still do that these days. Do first grade classes go on outings to the public library to get library cards.