A Timeless Reality

In my American Lit class we've been asked several times what we thought was literature. Some people have said anything that was written down, others said writings that give us a glimpse into the past. I've been thinking about my answer for a few weeks, and the other day in class I decided to voice my opinion on the matter.

Literature is anything that makes you think. It can be a novel, a newspaper article, a poem, the "literature" in the doctor's office, a textbook, or even song lyrics. I don't mean those Boxcar Children books we read when we were kids. I don't mean those trivial emails you get that have been forwarded a billion times. I mean stuff that you don't forget about 2 seconds after you read it. I mean the stuff that makes your brain form a thought, and then form another thought, and then another and another and another. If it makes you think, then it's making you better.
People these days don't read anymore. At least not like they used to. Now we get everything we know from tv, from politicians, from talk radio, from anywhere except for printed material. That's not necessarily bad, but it scares me. Why? Because if people are getting all their information from CNN or FOX news, they don't think for themselves. They accept what the tv tells them and they don't question it!

If people don't read, all their thoughts are not really theirs. They have been hugely influenced by the newscaster. The media is supposed to be un-biased, but that is far from true anymore. Everyone has opinions and they aren't afraid to share them.

Authors share their opinions too, but if you are reading it, you have time to stop and think about it. If you're just listening to someone, you don't have a chance to digest the material and decide your opinion on the matter, so you just take what that person says as your opinion. That's sad. That's scary.

So please, think for yourself. Please, read.