Reading

When I was a youngster trying to navigate my way through middle and even early high school, one of my favorite escapes was reading comic books. I went through them, especially anything with a super hero in it, faster and more thoroughly than General Sherman went through Atlanta during the Civil War. While I no longer turn to those publications for reading pleasure, I confess to still having a soft spot in my heart for them. I like to think my reading outlets have evolved in a more positive way. Right now, for instance, I am working my way through Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov."

I keep hearing that in our country today fewer people are reading. This is unfortunate on a number of levels. Less reading means less enlightenment, more narrow perspectives, and greater ignorance. It also reduces our ability to communicate with others. How can any of us effectively and even convincingly explain or defend our our views on various issues if we do not possess a base of knowledge from which to draw? How can we effectively connect or relate to others from different backgrounds and cultures without a fundamental awareness of life beyond our own intellectual and geographic borders? How can we help those who follow, such as our children, be better prepared for the challenges of tomorrow without the kind of intellectual foundation that comes from books and other similar resources?

One way I view reading is as an exercise that helps keep our brains in shape. The more we do it the better able we are to keep in our minds in respectable condition. Further, the more we upgrade this kind of exercise, the capacity of our gray matter expands and enhances our ability to understand, be aware, contend with, and connect with others. It is no different than a weight lifter who adds ten pounds to his or barbells. It is a simple matter of doing all we can to stay in the best shape we can. After all, our world and its many challenges are not getting any less complicated, nor are the demands being placed upon our need to communicate effectively.