A frightening view.

I am reading right now Pulitzer Prize-winner's Chris Hedges' new book "Empire of Illusion--The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle."

Hedges is not what you would call an optimist. His book--a polemic, really, rails against the excess of vapidity in America, our failure to consider truth, our embrace of celebrity and fantasy and our abandonment of critical thinking.

I think about this as people describe tattoos as "body art." Or talk about hip-hop or sneaker-culture. Please.

Here's what randomhouse.ca has to say about the book on their site. (It's not yet released in the US.)

"Pulitzer prize–winner Chris Hedges charts the dramatic and disturbing rise of a post-literate society that craves fantasy, ecstasy and illusion.

"Chris Hedges argues that we now live in two societies: One, the minority, functions in a print-based, literate world, that can cope with complexity and can separate illusion from truth. The other, a growing majority, is retreating from a reality-based world into one of false certainty and magic. In this “other society,” serious film and theatre, as well as newspapers and books, are being pushed to the margins."

There's not much I can add to the above. All I can say is I picked up the book yesterday at 1 and will likely finish it today by 10PM. I encourage you to find time to read it and find someone receptive to pass it along to. And pray.