A Reflection on Literacy

So last week I had to write an essay for a study abroad academic merit scholarship and was really enjoying writing it (which only happens when I'm writing about something that I firmly believe). Unfortunately, I was just about to submit everything when I realized that I had gone off topic in my essay and I had to modify it. But fear not! I saved the original one since I figured it would make a good, thought-provoking blog post. Here is the result.

Alvin Toffler

            The futurist Alvin Toffler once said, “The illiterate of the 21^st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” Such a statement appears rather prescient in light of the rapidly expanding world of information to which the common man has access and should be examined more closely in order to gain more insight about what true modern illiteracy is and how it can be prevented.

            First, the reader will most likely agree that most people in Western cultures are able to read and write at a basic level, though some obviously have more skills than others. Moreover, the informational resources the world has today have accelerated learning to a degree never seen before in history, but with that accelerated learning comes accelerated change. The faster one can peruse information on a subject, the faster he or she can see flaws in the subject and the faster he or she can seek to repair those errors. However, the other side of this two-edged sword is that one must be able to learn a subject and, when flaws are found, unlearn that subject. Only then can one move forward as he relearns that topic. To that extent, I agree with Mr. Toffler’s analysis.

            Nevertheless, Mr. Toffler’s quotation should be amended slightly. First, while it is very important to be flexible in a world of increasingly available information, one must be able to distinguish what is ethically and morally right or wrong, even amidst a crowd who would ridicule his or her beliefs on such topics. The example that is prominent in my mind is that of the German people during the era just preceding the Second World War. Today, Western civilization look in horror at the pictures and eyewitness accounts of the terrible crimes that were committed by the Nazis against the Jewish people and wonder that an entire seemingly civilized people could look on without vehement protest as a whole at such travesties against humanity. This seeming discrepancy can be cleared by the rather chilling fact that a people who allow convenience to trump ethics and morality and seek to “unlearn and relearn” basic beliefs about the sanctity of human life that Western society has held for centuries can descend to the very depths of barbarity.

            Thus, in the writer’s opinion, true literacy is indeed the ability to efficiently add to one’s learning in areas such as academics and the like, but one should look with a truly critical eye on changes in the basic principles that make up the moral fiber of a society. With these considerations in mind, true literacy can be achieved and human civilization as a whole can be advanced into the future.