English 1520
16 May 2013
American Education
In the article “American the Illiterate” by Chris Hedges he argues about the growing concern on the American people. In the argument he states that Americans everyday are less and less dependent on their ability to read and write. He explains how society over all is more dependent on image based information.
In his first couple of paragraphs he describes this growing epidemic. How literacy affects us as a country and as a nation over all. He brings evidence and proof about his argument from various different creditable sources. He explains that illiteracy is such a minor priority to most Americans that doing things like their taxes or electing a new president doesn’t require them to be experts in illiteracy.
Bringing in emotional story and a good slogan with words like pro-life, hope, maverick, war on terror. The American people are easily manipulated and are reeled in to the fight between truth and lies. He explains that America is so blind when it comes to signing a contract, policy agreement, or a legal document. Most if not all the time they barley even start reading. It’s hard to admit but at the end even I agree with Hedges logic. Every time I download a new software or log into my bank account never have I set there and read the agreement start to end. Just the other day I was reading the fine print in my insurance contract and I was amazed at some of the things that we assume are covered like roadside assistance. I always just assumed that if I get a flat tire I can call a tow truck and get it fixed. But when you read the actual fine print it states that only the original owner in my case it’s my dad who would be covered under the membership otherwise its coming out of your own pocket.
He describes the change from print based to image based society. Print base is the good old days when we got newspaper and letters in the mail. Whereas now a days everything from news to letters to contracts are image based or electronic. No doubt everything going electronic has made life a lot easier and saved countless trees, but with every plus there is always a minus.
We stare at our black screens countless hours of the day, everything from computer to smartphones to TV’s. Sometimes we spend more hours a day staring at the screen than we do actually sleeping. Unfortunately even I do the same thing. Thankfully it’s not to a point where I have to wear glasses because my eyes are so bad. Which is the minus side of making life easier, my nieces that are 7 and 8 years old have already have glasses because there always on some screen.
Americans now days are more likely to say why read when you can see the same thing? This starts with political campaign ads. When 80 percent of the 42 million Americans don’t buy a single book in a full year, what are the odds that they are going to do research on politics? Now more than ever before it’s easier to run and get elected. Being that last presidential election was my first where I was able to vote. I didn’t even know about half of the policies that were on the table. I just listened to the debates and opinion of friends and family because I was too lazy to do my own research. We use to relying on traditional morals and common sense but now we depend on the opinion and the status of others. Being one the American’s that Hedges refers to as being manipulated, because there is no such thing as rational debates or democracy its either lies or manipulation that drives the nation and its people.
Every year the presidential speeches have decreased in reading levels because of technology and internet. Choosing entertainment over education is where the loss of illiteracy takes place. For example the reading level for Abraham Lincoln’s speech which was at the college level compare to Obama and Bush’s speech which is at a middle school level (Hedges).
We’ve all heard that technology is good for a country’s growth. It helps us improve our everyday life. So, why isn’t this the case for our education? If technology is “so helpful to the American people” then why have we seen such a major drop in our education?
We’ve been so caught up in the world of technology that we forget what really is happening around us. Take for example when a new software update comes to your device they ask you to agree to a contract. But how many of us can actually say they’ve read every line in that contract for all we know it can say “by agreeing to the following contract you sign over your financial responsibilities”. But the chances are most likely it’s not going happen. Even if it did we wouldn’t know because we just “assume” or “hope” it doesn’t state that anywhere. We “hope” because we are lazy to read, we are ignorant and most of all we are stubborn to read.
There is no question that technology has helped make the American dream more possible. But at the end of the day it’s made us more venerable to lack in education. Technology could have helped us change the course of education. But instead we brought this epidemic on ourselves. It’s amazing what a nation can accomplish if it relays on their own common sense rather being feed lies and manipulation.

Hedges, Chirs. "Chris Hedges: America the Illiterate - Chris Hedges' Columns -Truthdig." Truthdig Main News. The Host Pros, 19 Nov. 2008. Web. 21 May 2013.