The demise of reading is the demise of a kind of thinking, a kind of common culture, and eventually, a kind of civilization. I believe this. I FEAR the chronic non-readers, especially males. If enough readers/thinkers remain, a culture can cohere and survive, but the demise of civilization will occur/is occuring when images create emotion create violence and the majority can be lulled to sleep or roused to violence without thinking. I truly, truly fear what Will is describing.

Next to this, I fear people who….

...only read theology,
think video games are somehow significant narratives,
know celebrity culture better than they know anything else,
have contempt for common sense morality,
see politics as the creation of utopia at any cost,
believe their prejudices against those who THINK differently than they do are justified.