What’s on Your Summer Reading List
I still remember hearing Jim Rohn speak 20 years ago and his main message was, Where you end up 5 or 10 years from now will depend primarily on the books you read and the people you hang out with. Today I read an article by David Brooks on how the words are changing in the books we read, and what that means for our culture.
Reading seems to be almost a lost art these days. It is being replaced by not only reality TV or endless television sitcoms, but also by video on demand for almost any topic or a plethora of video games (many of which seem to focus on shooting, killing, and death). When you are traveling this summer try counting how many cars you pass that have children who are reading versus children who are playing or watching video streamed to their iPads.
When I go online to see recent news videos, I am amazed at the topics (Benghazi, IRS scandal, targeted citizen groups, news agencies being taped or targeted), and even more amazed that so many people are either unaware or unconcerned about where these types of events might be leading our country. And most of these same (uninformed) people could probably tell you who are still in the competition for The Voice, or Dancing With the Stars, or Survivor series whatever.
Brooks’ article and recent news points us to the facts that NOT studying or reading some material about our history leads to further cultural decline in our country. What might change if we asked our youth (and adults too, for that matter) to start spending more time in good books (ones that talk about faith and culture and our history) – and less time in front of the TV or video displays. What if you made reading a family activity over the summer? Or all agreed to read the same book (on your own personal digital devices) and then scheduled time to discuss the material, maybe even with other families?
I won’t add my list of suggested reading, you can get those lists online in many places, but I will suggest one book that I am reading right now, The 5000 Year Leap, by W. Cleon Skousen. It is a very interesting read about how our government was founded and how it is intended to work.
Happy reading this summer!