Journal #9: America's History of a Lack of Motivation

   I never really thought that history could repeat itself, even though many people have always believed that it can.  However, after reading about literary life in the late 1800s, I now see a resemblance between life then and life now in our society when it comes to entertainment versus education.  As more inventions arose and thoughts grew wider, people forgot about books.  We can see this today in many children all across the United States who have been sucked into the zombie-like state each afternoon after school playing high-tech video games instead of doing schoolwork.  The resemblance between the 1800s and today’s society is that when given a choice between academics or entertainment, entertainment is always the more desired choice.

     Reading pages 1-29, I was surprised to learn that around 1895, “poetry assumed a diminishing role” (23).  Already, in a society that was still growing and learning about itself, people were putting down the books and focusing on the future of technology and entertainment.  William Cullen Bryant said it perfectly, that, “The taste for [poetry] is something old-fashioned; the march of the age is another direction; mankind are occupied with politics, railroads, and steamboats” (24).  Has our lack of attention on academics as a nation gone back this far in our country’s history?  It seems that we value entertainment too much.

     Today, 65% of United States households play video games (Statistics).  In the 12-17 age range, 22% of them are “established gamers”, meaning they have had more than two years of playing experience already (Statistics)!  It seems as if our society today places a greater strain on entertainment and just pleasing our children by giving them what they desire than actually inspiring them to love school and to read!  

     If we could get the excitement back into reading like it was in the 1800s when many up and coming authors made their debut, our education system would prosper and so would the minds of our children.  Instead of parents settling on mediocre children who value entertainment over education, parents should encourage reading and the persistence of knowledge.