i keep thinking about reading/writing skills (literacy, vocabulary, comprehension, etc, the whole shebang) and like. feeling like maybe i should become more qualified or find some way to be active in helping these issues because of many issues that concern me in this world, this is one where I like, almost feel like i have something to contribute, but I don't fully know what it would look like. like we just need some fundamental truths out there
literacy is important and generally improves quality of life
literacy (and all of its related subskills) is not a binary state. it's not a case of you either have it or you don't. everyone falls somewhere on a long gradient of different sub-skills of literacy.
literacy (and all of its related subskills) is hard to build - harder for some people than others, depending on their unique brain, also their circumstances and how much support or opportunity they're given to grow those skills (not to mention the fact that for many people who are multilingual or often use a language that is not their first language, there's even more literacy skill to be built in a second/third etc language!)
we should be doing everything we can to help the largest number of people possible build their literacy skills as much as possible.
in order to do that, we must acknowledge that these are complex skills that require practice and support and that continue to develop throughout life
people with medium / low / no literacy are still people and still deserve rights. in other words: having poor reading or writing skills is not a moral failing, regardless of the reason(s) why that's the case. (YES, even if one of the reasons is "even though this person has the tools/support to improve their literacy further, they are not interested in putting in the effort to do so").
we have to remove the stigma surrounding low/no literacy and actually meaningfully support people who want to improve their reading and writing skills no matter who they are, where they are, how old they are, what point they're starting from
like. one of the most important steps in dismantling the silly "condescending smug intellectuals" vs. "dumb selfish anti-intellectuals" conflict is by making it clear that "intellect" is more like muscle or physical skill than it may seem. like yes, some people and bodies may have a bit more "natural aptitude" for it or have had circumstances while growing up that made it easier to adopt those skills (just as some people may be more "naturally adept" at physical activities like sports, dance, any specialized kind of physical craft or labor) BUT that they are skills that CAN BE LEARNED and CAN BE BENEFICIAL to anyone.
and like. i'm as guilty of this as anyone, but I think those of us who identify more with the "smug intellectual" side who are worried about the literacy crisis can start by generally assuming good intentions and instead of giving into the (often very tempting) urge to say someone "has no reading comprehension" as an insult to dismiss anything they have to say, try to reframe it as: okay, maybe this person isn't expressing their own point as well as they want or aren't understanding my point - how can I be not a dick about it and help this move forward? like no you're not gonna completely change someone's reading/writing skills in one interaction and yea sometimes other people seem to show no self-reflection or ability to consider that their skills there might be limiting them but like just being patient and assuming good faith and trying to communicate another way and bridge the gap will usually leave a better taste in everyone's mouth versus basically saying, "you have no reading comprehension, anything you have to say is invalid"
