Do we really need to read?

Have you ever noticed that when you go to a public bathroom and the neighboring stall is occupied, you can often hear them chatting away on their cell phone or you hear the mad dash of fingers texting away? A lot of people take that as a sure sign that books are dying and that literacy is at an end. E-mails are even starting to have texting lingo included in them so that you can ttyl to your bff. What is happening to our society?
Back before Aristotle and Socrates, or even before Homer, education was oral based. The learned man was the one that could quote all the history, rhyme and verse of the people. They learned rhyme and rhetoric and were hailed as the learned men. An emperor (who ruled, but was usually not very educated) demanding popular support could hear these wisemen give him praise and think it grand, when in reality the educated people would leave something such as bravery, or kindness, or proper rhyming or timing out of their poetic praise. The learned people would read between the lines and know what was not being said and therefore what was being implied and would laugh at their little joke.
Suddenly, the Phoenicians invented written language and all of a sudden, these oral traditions and learning were banned from the "inner circles of logic and resoning" by the likes of Socrates and others. Writing and the "scientific method" replaced oral tradition and whoever could write were given a certain power or status over those who could.
This would explain why the church became such a powerful entity during the dark ages. Those who could read and write had a special gift fom God and those that had the word of God had a mandate from him to lead his people - even if they were followed blindly and ensured it stayed so.
This led to another revolution as the printing press was invented by Gutenberg and the likes of men such as Martin Luther and Jon Wycliff paved the way for revolution. We owe these men for the power of books which guided the world for another four centuries.
We are in the middle of another revolution though. In the mid-1800's, something called the telegraph was invented. Then we had the telephone, Morse Code, talking pictures, television, computers, the internet, cell phones, blackberries, etc. We are being bombarded by a new digital age and the way we are thinking is changing. We are now a visual and oral society that is based on immediate information....and lots of it.
For example, when President hinckley died, I think everyone knew within 15 minutes to an hour. Example 2: When a student does research, he first goes to google. Example 3: We don't trust sources anymore. Anyone can say anything about anything. We trust the masses. That's why feedback and comments are so important on Amazon.com, eBay, and consumer testing sites.
So I ask, where are we going in the future?

I read this article last night. It's rather polemic in its thinking, however, I found it intriguing and have been thinking about it ever since. I kind of summed up my thoughts on the article and it's main points in the previous paragraphs, but I recommended reading the full article.
http://individual.utoronto.ca/markfederman/WhyJohnnyandJaneyCantRead.pdf

It's like a wildlife refuge, but for books.

I discovered a secret for book lovers that is hidden in the commercial industrials in Orem. Not that it's existence is secret from everyone. I discovered about it in one of the posts in one of the groups I am part of on LibraryThing.com.

Hidden in the plain yellow warehouses of 1200 W is a door with blinds that cover the windows. Both sliding doors are closed and the building looks a little foreboding. A small sign on the window informs the interested party that this, indeed, is the Worldwide Book Drive. Entering, you see shelves of books; children books on the left, religion books on the right, fiction books in front, and other shelves that flow through the back that are not entirely discernible as to the contents. It is quite the sight to behold.

Millions of books are thrown out each year. Thousands upon thousands of pounds of paper litter the world's dumps when it could be recycled. Even better, there are thousands of under-funded institutions, poor neighborhoods, and schools that are longing for better libraries.
John Keller noticed this and saw an opportunity during his senior year at BYU. Now, Worldwide Book Drive accepts thousands of donations of books. Many of these books are resold to cover expenses (hardbacks are $3, soft covers are $2). Even more are donated (140,000 last year and a goal of 250,000 this year.....they've already donated 35,000 and it's only January). Anything else is recycled.

So there you have it. A good cause and thousands of books to peruse through that will make any bibliophile palpitate. I purchased a couple Harvard Classics and a Press Edition of the Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. Oh, and a Marvin Goldstein piano book.
I give five stars and two big toes up!

http://www.worldwidebooks.org/