Within the next 180 days, I’m sure I will have more commentary on the troubles our nation faces. There are many lessons to unpack from the last election, and I want to make sure we are seeing things clearly.
I wanna start with this very basic necessity that has alluded to many Americans. Canada’s literacy rate is at 50 percent. More specifically, in Canada, half of the country has a literacy rate below high school level.
Literacy rates are measured by the percentage of people in a given age group who can understand simple statements about daily life, and Canada is at 50 percent.
Russia is almost at 100 percent literacy, and they have been that high since the 1950s. In fact, in 1939, the Soviet Union had 89.7 percent literacy amongst people aged 9 to 49.
Russia has always had a strong education emphasis throughout its history. I don’t want to embarrass us any further by telling you some of the rates in other countries like Asian or Indian, but I bet you can guess. The numbers sort of follow the math and science rates.
In the US, when your literacy rate is low, it means you lack critical thinking skills, which means you can be easily manipulated. You won’t know you’re being manipulated until it’s too late. It also means that you won’t make as money as others who can read better. A study showed that reading is more linked to higher pay than education.
Consider these stats: In 2024, the illiteracy rate in the United States was 21 percent, meaning that 79 percent of adults are literate, but 74 percent of them are below 6th grade! (54 percent of adults have a literacy level below 6th grade, and 20 percent of adults have a literacy level below 5th grade).
Low literacy levels can cost the US up to $2.2 trillion per year.
Is it possible that your government wants you illiterate? I mean, it would be quite easy to convince you to do certain things and believe that down the road it will benefit you in some way. How difficult do you think it is to practice real democracy when you lack critical thinking skills?
Last question: How many books did you read last year?
ClydeStyle 