I found this presidential election reading list on PoliticalLore.com, and it got me thinking: What is the relationship of reading to our political process?
Now, it's early on Tuesday morning, and while I've thankfully already voted, I do have other early-morning things to do, like ingest my full complement of very strong coffee — so I'm not going to try and write anything too complicated, lest I get everything wrong, confuse you utterly, and wind up saying something inconclusive and unnecessary.
Instead, I'll say this: Reading and writing meant everything to our nation in its infancy and youth. It was words and their power that allowed a people who wanted freedom to express their principles.
Today, we supposedly still adhere to those principles (on our best days, like today, I believe we do), but many people say that reading and writing have lost their power to watching and listening.
To some extent, that may be true. But I believe, too, that reading and writing aren't simply alternatives to watching and listening; they're qualitatively different. That's why I continue to champion books and continue to string sentences together (even without benefit of caffeine). For someone to write a cogent, cohesive manifesto — like, say, "The Declaration of Independence" — and for someone to read it, actively and thoughtfully…
Well, that's a radical act. It always has been and it still is. Get out and vote, then come home and read something that makes you think. You'll never feel — or be — more American.
