( I in no way own this image I found it on the internet)
It seems to be the trend that people post or quote literature from authors, poets, or in some instances journalists who inspire them. These authors are usually their contemporaries. These people often quote their “esteemed writers” with such conviction that they forget whether their favorite author wrote it or if they themselves wrote it. They lose sight of what is important and then take on that persona whether it is what they truly believe or not. If you dare to ask these types of people if their scope of literature extends beyond on the ideas they spout, you will often find that they no longer can think for themselves and argue fruitlessly that they need not read any other authors. As if that one author holds all the stories that a person could ever want to know.
This ideology has become so ingrained in our society, that generations are no longer well-rounded and if it is not contemporary they have no interest in the subject. I feel that the words of author’s grater than two decades past are being greatly overlooked. Overlooked so much so that when I asked a young reader if they read any childhood classics such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. This one pre-teen stared at me blankly as if it to say they never even heard of the American childhood classic. This child instead pointed to the recent vampire novel and said this is the only “genre” that interests them. The “genre” of sucking people’s blood and turning them into the “undead”. As early as twelve years old they are being taught if you “know” or read only one type of book then you are complete. No longer are you taught to think for yourself or to broaden your horizon.
While Vampire novels are “fine and dandy” that’s not all there is to life. But this child spoke to me with such certainty that this is the only type of book that I almost began to believe it myself. I am not saying to stray from what you love, but instead not to let one person dictate your lives and thought process. It saddens me to know what so many children are missing, due to lack of education and ideas of independent thinking. This is tonight’s mini-rant thank you for listening.
Until next time when we pick up with more literary talk, I remain respectfully,
Cheyenne E. Mitchell
Cheyenne E. Mitchell 