Few people would argue with the assertion that reading (or, more importantly, the ability to read) is vital to education. A student who cannot read will be unable to complete even simple assignments in school and will experience difficulties no matter what the subject matter is. Such a person will be more likely to drop out of school and be almost unemployable. In an age when even a college degree provides one with no guarantee of a high paying job, the inability to read can cost people their futures – regardless of their race, sex, or background.
What’s not usually considered, though, is the ways in which illiteracy contributes to so many of society’s other ills. In a democratic country, particularly, a large populace that can’t (or that prefers not to) read can be careless in its decision-making. Look at the way in which complex political issues are written and debated about in print and online publications. It’s often complex, even convoluted matter; it flies over the heads of so many otherwise intelligent people who either don’t have the vocabulary to grasp it or who don’t even try to because they never got much pleasure out of reading in the first place. Such people are likely, then, to be much more vulnerable to propaganda and form their opinions on the basis of short political advertisements and one-sided news stories.
A lot of the political rhetoric that’s spouted on television and other media seems to be banking upon this kind of ignorance. It’s as if we’re being told that the factors at work behind any issue are too complicated for us to understand, so it would be best if we just took a newscaster’s or politician’s word for it. But what is the value of democracy if the majority of people don’t have access to the facts that they need to make informed decisions? An illiterate population is at the mercy of those who would decide policy, because they lack the means to research the truth for themselves.
We can see the ill effects of illiteracy reflected not only in the polls but also in the courtroom. When jurors are confronted with complex legalities and scientific evidence, those among them who don’t read will be likely to just ignore what they can’t understand and draw upon their own prejudices when making a decision. Granted, one doesn’t need to read in order to hear the evidence presented in a case. But people who do read acquire a lot of background knowledge – knowledge that’s more rounded, and doesn’t just apply to the particular subject in question. Such people are likely to have a wider field of reference to draw on, and won’t need to rely solely on their personal feelings when they need to be objective about serious issues.
Reading is a pathway to knowledge that can enrich our lives in so many other areas besides just academics. People who read have all the tools they need to educate themselves about any issue that concerns them and to form a solid opinion about it. Illiteracy deprives people not only of knowledge but also of power, and the ability to understand how political and social issues really affect their lives.
