By AFP Staff
While Washington works itself into a lather over Russians supposedly trolling Americans and “ruining democracy,” a new poll from Pew Research Center found that less than 25% of American adults actually reads books. The percentage of non-readers is even higher among those over age 50.
It’s even worse than that. Television is normally a wasteland, but occasionally it shines a mirror on us and can reflect our flaws. A new video by late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel does exactly that when he sends staff out to interview the man-in-the-street with the simplest of questions: “Can you name a book?”
You can watch the video here:
For those who don’t want to patronize YouTube, here is the gist of the video: The comedian sent a team into the streets to ask average Americans if they could just name one book. They didn’t even ask for the last book they read—only to name the title to one single book. How did most people respond? Most couldn’t, but some went to so far as to name movies.
It’s painful to watch but worth a moment of your time.
And Washington is worried about Russian trolls?
