“What we have here,”

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“What we have here,”

R. Ross Whalen • Sep 04, 2020

“Is a failure to communicate.” An iconic line from a little known book which was turned into an incredible movie. This line is quoted by tens of thousands of people who haven’t read the book or seen the movie. A line spoken by one of Hollywood’s more incredible character actors (Strother Martin) who no one under the age of forty would recognize.

It amazes me the power of words. The power of being able to read and write those words. This line originated in the book Cool Hand Luke. A novel written by a criminal (Donn Pearce) turned journalist. A man who wrote about the harsh conditions of working on a chain gang. Something he knew about intimately.

Someone in Hollywood read the book. Liked it enough to offer the author the job of turning it into a screenplay. A screenplay where he kept the famous quote. All this because of a book.

Let’s look at that for a minute. February is literacy month. Literacy is defined as the ability to read and write. An awesome skill set most of us take for granted. However, inside the United States there is a staggering 14% of the population who can’t read. 14%! That’s roughly 32 million people. Incredible.

Want some more statistics? These statistics are taken from:

https://brandongaille.com/us-literacy-rate-and-illiteracy-statistics/ and they are horrible. No one inside the United States who has been a part of this countries education system shouldn’t be able to read and write well above the norm in the world.

Yet:

21% of US adults read below the 5th grade level.

19% of high school graduates cannot read.

85% of juveniles who interact with the juvenile court system are considered functionally illiterate.

70% of inmates in America’s prisons cannot read above the fourth grade level.

I can’t believe anyone can graduate from high school and be illiterate. And yet they do. One man taught high school for 14 years before it was discovered he couldn’t read or write. Wow!

I consider illiteracy to be one of this country’s most preventable tragedies. I have told my story about learning to read on another blog post. I can say unequivocally reading saved my life. Made me into the man I am today. I would have ended up dead or in prison had it not been for the wonderful gift of reading and the role models reading provided me.

Why is it like this I often ask myself. Sure, there are some people who absolutely hate to read. Yet, these same people can often be found eating their cereal reading the side of the box. Is it because of the television? I doubt it. People long to see their favorite books turned into movies or a series on the TV but I can’t blame the media for the lack of literacy in this country.

So, what is the cause? I mean the root cause? Can it be traced back to the schools or to the home environment? I don’t have a clue. However, I do know I hate illiteracy. Hate the fact anyone in this great country of ours is unable to read or reads at such a low level it might as well be non-existent.

You have to be able to read and write to fill out job applications, do your taxes, purchase something online. Reading is such a part of our day to day lives I can’t imagine life without it. Yet 32 million Americans live this way.

Teach your kids to read. Create a world where reading is a part of the routine of life. Read to your grand-kids at night. Give them the gift of Harry Potter as they curl up and listen to you tell the story. Let them follow along as you read. Give them the magic of understanding scribbles of black lines on white paper.

Magic? Yes, reading is magical. It can teach you to sew or cook or fix a flat tire. It can show you a life other than your own. It can help you dream. Can help you build those dreams into realities. To be able to read and write gave a man who had a career as a bank robber and forger the ability to create a book which gave us the world’s greatest quote as far as I am concerned. Say it with me.

“What we have here, is a failure to communicate.”

Now teach your children and your children’s children to read. Someday they might find themselves at a crossroads like the author of the quote above. Someday they might choose to write. I wonder what they will say.

I’m Ross, The Editor-in-Chief at The Pyrateheart Press and I’m out.

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