1 Kelsey Halstead Professor Emilia Fuentes English 1101 4 September 2013 Literacy as Power The most successful and

influential people in the world are some of the most literate. Social and political powers are driven by literacy: a force for understanding, analyzing, critiquing, and developing personal opinions. In its simplest definition, literacy is nothing but the ability to read and write; but what about Sylvia Scribners critical analysis of literature in which she best defined literacy through three metaphors? Since there is no concrete definition, I am going to examine the power of literacy and the effect of that power on people and societies. Increased literacy is necessary for all change, whether it is personal, social, or political. As Americans in a democratic republic, we have a role to be literate and informed citizens because the power ultimately lies within the people. People who do not carry out their role are most likely disconnected from society in some way, or considered illiterate. The power and potential of a person in todays society rests in the individuals literacy. A very basic representation of literacy having the power to cause political change is the way we elect the President of the United States and many other political officers. Over the years, society has faced great changes through the alternating parties who hold the majority power in government, from Democrat to Republican, Liberal to Conservative. Each and every one of these office holders must be literate in all aspects of life because they are representing the American people. Barack Obamas 2008 election campaign slogan was Change. These men and women who run for office use their literacy as power through speeches, debates, and conversation. Since literacy is widely

2 recognized as power, many people support public education funding. President George W. Bush went as far as saying that education is the Civil Rights struggle of our time in support of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. Education in todays modern society is considered a right, which strongly demonstrates the power of literacy. It is obvious that not every person who is literate will gain political or social power, and that is where the power of literacy is in question. Without doubt, increased literacy allows for greater structure and functionality for the individual and society as a whole, but maybe, as Gerald Graff believes, literacy is the ultimate equalizer. Literacy is also seen as an equalizer; however, its absence can relegate a nation to economic and cultural backwardness or an individual to a fallen moral state (Graff, 1979; Erickson, 1988) (literacy.org). These statements recognize the importance of literature to global and personal aspects. As an equalizer, literacy connects people and encourages progression without eliminating competition. Ericksons reference to a fallen moral state brings about yet another question: is ones literacy directly connected to ones moral character? Someone with high morals obviously thinks critically and understands the advantages and disadvantages of decisions, so they must be literate in some way. Through research, I have found there is actually a term called moral literacy which is defined as the ability to contend with complex moral problems. The morally literate individual must acknowledge the multiple perspectives of individuals involved in the problems (psu.edu). In my opinion, morals and power go hand in hand. I think literacy has the power to cause any type of change. First, one must address what literacy means for the given issue, such as basic skills like reading and writing, or

3 the ability to interpret and understand things. Someone who is technologically literate could change the way people communicate, while someone who is economically literate could cause global change in the way economies function. A literate individual has the power to pursue whatever complexity lies ahead because it is all a basis of critical thinking and understanding.

4 Works Cited "George W. Bush on Education." George W. Bush on Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Sept. 2013. Kelder, Richard. "Rethinking Literacy Studies: From the Past to the Present." Literacy.org. International Literacy Institute, n.d. Web. 1 Sept. 2013. "K-12 Moral Literacy." Rock Ethics Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Sept. 2013.