From novels, to TV shows, and movies, Chinese food, especially cold Chinese takeout has been popularized, and I am in no way complaining. I have had a soft spot in my heart for Chinese food ever since I was little. There has always been something ‘cool’ about it to me, and I have retained this admiration for the cuisine to this day. I love chowing down on an order of sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, and the occasional egg roll. YUM!
Not only is the food delicious, but Chinese food also comes with the grown-up version of a toy: the fortune cookie. The crunchy treats with a fun surprise hidden inside. I love the fortunes too. Albeit silly, I enjoy comparing fortunes with my friends, from when we will meet our soul mate to when we will be handed a couple million dollars, or when we will get our big break. I do not honestly believe the cookie thrown into my takeout bag will accurately describe my life’s outcome, but, like horoscopes, they are a guilty pleasure of mine.
Last Saturday after enjoying some delicious Chinese food, I cracked open my fortune cookie, and I was dumbfounded at my fortune. The slip of paper did not tell me I was about to meet my soulmate, get rich, acquire fame or even reconnect with an old forgotten friend. No, instead the cookie simply read:
You are not illiterate.
What?! I adore the silly impractical fortunes I had become accustomed to from fortune cookies, so at first, I was a bit let down. This was most definitely not a fortune. It was a fact, and an obvious one at that. However, after a bit of reflection, I wondered if this was the most meaningful fortune cookie message I had ever received.
The statement is obviously true; I am not illiterate and neither are you. Nonetheless, others in the world are not as fortunate. After some quick research, I found out the global literacy rate for males is 90.0% where the female rate is 82.7%. The rate varies drastically throughout the world with developed nations having a rate of 99.2%, while Niger for example, has a literacy rate of just 19%. The sub-Saharan African nations have an overall literacy rate of 64.0%. These numbers are shocking and troubling to me.
Check out the map below for literacy rates per country:
The illiteracy rates in some countries in the 80-90% range means on average one out of every ten men cannot read and write. Of course it is worse for women, with nearly two out of every ten women being illiterate. These numbers seem unimaginable to me in my daily life. I don’t personally know anyone who is illiterate, but just because I am not exposed to it in daily life, does not make it less of a problem. Furthermore, this should not make the issue irrelevant to any of us especially as it hits much closer to home than you would suspect.
Illiteracy is by no means nonexistent in the United States. Approximately 32 million adults in America are classified as reading at or below the basic level according to the National Center for Educational Statistics, and this equates to approximately 14% of the entire adult population in the United States. Reading at or below the basic level means one is able to understand only the most simple and concrete literacy modes. Such a person would be able to search a short, simple text to find out what a patient is allowed to drink before a medical test, sign a form, or add an amount on a bank deposit slip. This same person could not perform at a basic level which is defined as having the skills to search (in a pamphlet for prospective jurors) for an explanation of how people are selected for the jury pool, use a television guide to find out what programs are on at a specific time, or compare ticket prices for two events. Among developed nations, the United Sates ranks 16th in adult reading skills.
Can you image living in the world and not being able to read and write well? I can hardly imagine a society where this skill in not commonplace. The ability to read fluently is paramount to an individual’s lifelong success. The skill is arguably the principal foundation for an adult’s health, security, financial opportunities, and social progression.
I grew up with my nose always in a book, and I have tried to read as many varied genres as possible, all I can get my hands on, yet I am fully aware I have so much more to learn and read. I know the fundamental importance of reading and writing. It is the basic way ideas and opinions are expressed. So much of what we know is directly linked to reading books. The spread of knowledge must be overwhelmingly slow without such a medium. This realization was astonishingly sobering, and left me a bit lost for words. I wanted to do something, but I am still not quite sure what I personally can do. Maybe raising awareness is the first step.
Ultimately, my fortune cookie last Saturday night was not what I was expecting, but it was an important and humbling lesson. I might still be waiting for fame and fortune, not to mention my soul mate, but I am not illiterate. We are not illiterate. We have the skills needed to take on and maybe even help the world. As cheesy as that sounds it is imperative to never forget. It is something I used to take for granted every day. Now I keep that little slip of paper from my fortune cookie with me, tucked inside my phone case. It serves as a reminder that although I have not found my soul mate or acquired great fame; I am not illiterate. I can read and write and learn. This is something I will no longer take for granted, nor something I am bound to forget thanks to a clever fortune cookie and some tasty Chinese food.