Literacy

Back in January of 2003 (I know, it seems so long ago) we vacationed in Costa Rica. Besides being a stunningly beautiful and civilized country bordered by 2 of the world's largest proponents of the illegal drug trade (Panama and Nicaragua) Costa Rica also has the distinction of being without a military. Back in the mid 60's the government elected to put the money it would have spent on establishing a military, into education. The result is that Costa Rica has a 96% literacy rate, one of the highest in the world for developing countries.

This little blurb was originally going to come back to the latest Canadian Armed Forces tv commercials, but in the course of research I discovered this website…

http://www.worldlit.ca/facts.html

Illiteracy is one of the greatest "crimes against humanity" that I can imagine. Here's the deal: if you provide people with an education they'll have the tools to make a living and support themselves and their families. They'll make a positive contribution to society, they'll have the confidence and the power to elect responsible and accountable governments (I know, this is idealistic but stay with me here) and the corruption that enslaves people will slowly but surely give way to human rights.

Wow, am I on a soapbox or what?

In medieval Europe and in certain tribal cultures (eg the early Mayan culture of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula) the only people who were permitted to learn basic literacy were government and church officials. This was designed to keep the masses subservient – no education, no power – a recipe for slavery.

India has a 50% illiteracy rate.

The ability to read and write should never be taken for granted.