[MD] Drama

[MarshaV]

At 11:00 AM 8/31/2006, DMB wrote:

>That's pretty much the I saw it too. I'd hoped that we were just going
>through a temporary period of stupidity, fear-based stupidity. But if Berman
>is right, the collaspe of intelligence in America is "unambiguously bleak".
>He assures the reader that his statistics are were not invented even though
>they're hard to believe and even harder to accept. For example, 120 million
>Americans can read no better than a 5th with many of them unable to read at
>all. The number of people who are genuinely literate, people who regularly
>read serious books, may be as low as 3%. 60% have never read a book of any
>kind. 42% could not locate Japan on a map and 35% of Americans couldn't even
>find the USA on a map. Only 2% of American teens can name the Chief Justice
>and only 4% could read a bus schedule. The National Science Foundation did a
>survey to measure the scientific literacy of American adults. 56% thought an
>electron was bigger than an atom and 91% could not say what a molecule was.
>63% thought early humans lived with dinosaurs, but hey, they were only wrong
>by about 60 million years. 53% didn't even understand that it takes a year
>for earth to orbit the sun. And only 6% of American adults reads as much as
>one book per year, and that includes any crappy old book.
>
>As much as I'd like to think the present leaders are to blame, I'm afraid
>its much bigger and deeper than that. If Berman is correct, we're presently
>watching our civilization collaspe, Thus, the monastic option. Sigh. Maybe
>you should paint a blue picture today. I did.

Those statistics are dark indeed.   I couldn't imagine how to live 
without books.  It looks like it's time to start collecting heritage 
seeds.  And paint, chop wood and carry water.  If you hear of a good 
monastery, let me know.  No kidding, in a few years it's what I might 
be seeking anyway, or at least a community of like minded souls.

I know what the dormouse said, but be careful what you feed your head.

Marsha