There’s been a meme going around saying that 54% of American adults read at or below a 6th-grade level. This is meant to denigrate those who voted for candidates that those who posted them disagree with, and I find it wrong in a number of ways.
1 – As the title shows, I think it is elitist. We all vote for candidates for many reasons. To claim someone does so because they are ignorant or lack education is insulting and ignorant in its own right.
2 – This number comes from a study of just over 12,000 citizens between ages 16-74 in 185 counties. For one, you can’t vote until you are 18, and for another, there are 3,144 counties (or the equivalent) in America and just under 245,000,000 eligible voters, of which about 156 million voted. So, less than a third of eligible voters elect the president every four years. That should be of great concern to all of us than some insignificant study.
3 – Another meme, which I think is related to the first, is that we are 125th in literacy as a nation; again, technically true but also false. We have an 84% literacy rate, according to a UNESCO study, but that is based on information that differs from nation to nation. I looked at 4 other studies and we are somewhere between 33rd and 38th at just above 99% literacy. There are lies, damned lies, and statistics (earliest attribution to the 1st Lord of Balfour, 1892).
The truth is that all of us, regardless of our political, economic, and other ideologies, post what fits into our personal worldviews. We all do this – I include myself – and sometimes we are right. Sometimes, however, we are wrong. The term “elitism” gets tossed around a lot too, but that term can be used in many ways. There are a lot of religious elitists pushing Christian Nationalism, while a lot of educational elitists use college rating systems to puff themselves up. Jesus had a lot to say about elitism; I especially like the story of the tax collector and the Pharisee in which the latter thanks God that he is not like the former, and the former asks God to have mercy on him.
Today, some Americans are happy with the election results while others are afraid of what might happen to them and their loved ones. Most of us are frustrated with our lack of good choices and will muddle through, regardless of who is elected. Mostly, though, we just need to chill. All of us could benefit from a time-out. We need to focus on how we move forward and stop lobbing accusations at one another. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t remain vigilant; there are some on the fringes who are trying to hurt innocent people, and the rest of us need to stand up and with them as allies. As a nation, however, we need to move forward and participate in our communities and in our quest for a more perfect union. And let’s stop using memes as if they were facts. Truth matters.
Prayer – Holy God, we, in this country, are so lucky to live here. We pray that we don’t screw it up. Help us in that resolve. Amen.
Today’s art is “Truth is the light of love” by Dmitry Stepanoff.