P8 Countering Myself

When I was looking back on all of the blogs I’ve written this quarter, I came across one that, after thinking about it, I would like to change. In other words, I would like to counter myself. It sounds kind of weird saying that; I am going against what I agreed with back in January. When Harris talks about countering I don’t think he meant for us to counter ourselves. However, I think countering ourselves, although strange, might be the best way to revise your own piece of writing. Looking at it so critically can make for excellent revisions.

            Anyway, back to the main topic, the blog that I am now going to counter is about Chris Hedges’s article titled “America the Illiterate.” Initially, I was upset over the staggering statistics about our country’s literacy rates. I was concerned for the future of our country and sadden by the huge percentage of the population that is illiterate. But a few weeks later I wrote an essay with the main point being that the definition of literacy is different for everyone. After I really thought about it, I was less upset about the just the numbers of our illiteracy rates, and more focused on the fact the Hedges failed to define what it means to be literate.

            So to revise my previous post, (P7 The Shocking Truth About Literacy in America) I would have to say I am still shocked about how high America’s illiteracy rates are and I still believe that is unacceptable but, I realize Hedges made faults in his article. He neglected to define the word “literacy.” All he did was scold us as a nation for becoming more stupid because of technology. He did not offer any ideas on how to change it or how to use technology to make positive changes. He also failed to mention all of the ways in which technology benefits us. His argument is one sided and he benefit from reading Harris’s chapter on countering. According to Harris, to counter effectively, one must acknowledge the other side of the argument and how your viewpoint differs. Hedges’s article just acknowledges one side, his side and at first I fell victim to believing everything he said until I looked at it more closely.