“An easily manipulated population that cares mostly for its own amusement may be more ready for tyranny (which can keep the masses happy with “bread and circuses”) than for the arduous responsibilities of self-government” -Gene Veith.
Now, more than ever, Christians need to read. We are people of the Word, and therefore need to immerse ourselves in the written Word. But not only should we read the Bible avidly, Christians should also read widely and voraciously: essays, poetry, plays, classic works, modern works, even “promiscuously” if we are to heed the Protestant poet, John Milton:
Since therefore the knowledge and survey of vice is in this world so necessary to the constituting of human virtue, and the scanning of error to the confirmation of truth, how can we more safely, and with less danger, scout into the regions of sin and falsity than by reading all manner of tractates and hearing all manner of reason? And this is the benefit which may be had of books promiscuously read.
Media scholars and social critics have demonstrated that different kinds of communication shape people’s thinking habits differently.
For example “word-centered” cultures tend to foster logical reasoning whereas “image-centered” cultures tend to foster emotional responses.
Further, reading cultivates longer attention spans, sustained accumulation of knowledge, and the enthusiastic desire to explore big ideas.
In contrast, those who mostly consume digital content not only tend toward emotional responses, but they also have much shorter attention spans, collect fragmented bits of knowledge (which produces inconsistencies in worldview), and possess strong impulses for instant gratification.
Another way to think about this is to remember that in ancient cultures, typically only the priestly class and the elites were literate. Therefore, it was they who possessed all the societal power—political and religious. The common person was dependent on the elites who effectively guarded their knowledge, keeping the masses in the dark by contenting them with bread and circuses.
Essentially, it was the Reformation—when the Bible was translated into vulgar languages and the printing press provided mass distribution—that democratized liberal learning, championed personal liberty, and allowed for democratic forms of self-government.
Still, the most powerful and influential figures in today’s society are avid readers. Warren Buffett spends five to six hours a day reading. Bill Gates reads at least 50 books per year. Zuckerberg read about 100 books per year. Elon Musk is said to read up to two books per day. And, Mark Cuban reads more than three hours a day.
Since the average American watches more than 8 hours of television and media content per day, it seems there’s something to be said for the old adage, “readers are leaders.” Content to amuse themselves with modern-day bread and circus—TV and Social Media—the masses are anything but leaders; instead, they are easily manipulated, passively readying themselves for tyranny.
Unfortunately, many Christians have simply acquiesced to the spirit of the culture and in large part joined the masses in amusing themselves to death instead of heeding the call as St. Augustine did, to tolle lege.
Christians should be the last to abdicate influence in the world as we alone have been given the commission that provides flourishing and eternal life to human beings. Let us take up and read before the culture is grieving with Ray Bradbury’s Montag,
“We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy. Something’s missing. I looked around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I’d burned in ten or twelve years. So I thought books might help.”