I Can Haz Cheezburger?

Literacy. Is it a problem? Sure.

Do people think about it much? Not really.

At least not the people over at KHNL---Live, Local, Late Breaking News.

I was flipping through the channels the other night and came across a story that I found both mind boggling and a bit disturbing. The report, compiled by the very capable people over at News 8, was investigating the low literacy rates here in Hawaii.

Believe it or not (but I am inclined to believe it), 1 in 6 adults in Hawaii is illiterate.

Nearly 16 percent! Well, exactly 16 percent.

Fairly shocking, I know, because one would guess from driving on the roads that the numbers would be far higher. The reasons for the piss poor showing, I feel, are twofold. First, the school system in Hawaii is abysmal. It's right up there with Tatoo from Fantasy Island on the Globetrotters depth chart. And two, our immigration policy isn't exactly clamoring for the best and brightest---too many family exemptions (wink, wink), if you catch my drift.

Learning to read as an adult takes time and dedication. It can really cut into the drinking-after-work-wit-dah-braddahs time, not to mention the valuable tricking-out-da-scooter-wit-da-custom-muffla-to-piss-everyone-off-in-da-neighborhood time. Let's face it, with all that partying and tricking-out, people here just aren't ready to put that much effort into learning about scribbles on a page.

And the older I get, the more I wonder if it is worth it myself.

Case in point: I was always told that learning to read helped people to develop their critical thinking skills. Evidently not, and here's why.

In the news clip I referred to above, the newscaster urges viewers to "visit the news webpage for more information on literacy programs".

Let that sink in for a moment.

Visit the webpage (by typing in the letters on a computer), to look for an article (by reading the letters on the screen), to find out information about the program (again by reading the various scribbles). BRILLIANT!

Hmmm. . .on second thought, maybe I should continue reading, but just ignore the journalists.

(Here is the link to the video. Enjoy.) http://www.khnl.com/Global/story.asp?S=10939420