The Virtue of Reading

It is common speech from elder people that we, young people, didn’t see those days, we know nothing, we don’t have experience so on.. Especially in my country Turkey, we have huge troubles with these minds as if only being years older means experience. So my post is to all these old people who doesn’t believe our knowledge or experiences..

Reading is the greatest virtue. By reading, borders can be removed, we can travel back in time or in space and form the future.

That’s right you can visit any age and any civilization by reading. Thus, you can share the pain or happiness of all those nations or people. Afterwards, with the lessons you took there, you can find solutions for today’s problem or prevent possible future problems. Only by reading, you can see that we are responsible of all world facts and issue, just because of not taking lessons.

Only by reading, you can see that we are still struggling with fundamentals as humanity, respect and being a society. Reading can teach you that history, philosophy, psychology, politics are all a kind of science and all mottos we like to repeat and all facts we have experienced are not just a coincidence, conversely, they are a hint and warning for the future. Besides, it can show what we even don’t know what ‘democracy’ means.

By reading, you could see that earth doesn’t turn around you and what you have experienced are not really so different and unique. Besides, to see and to know, we don’t have to live in those periods. If you read, you would easily realise that many civilations and nations experienced the same troubles, many of them fought like us, hated each other. You would see that we have to work in order not to have same fights and see so many deaths. That time you would understand the value of freedom and humanity, meaning of the respect and equality.

Yes, if you read, you would know that democracy is not a single vote or the power of majority. So you would see that your responsibility doesn’t end after an election and your choices are nothing or just a meaningless expectation; the results you are surprised are not surprising but easily expected; what you advice are just funny; what you know, what you have experienced are just nothing…You would see that knowledge deserves respect more than age and hollow experiences… Yes you would

know all of these and generate new ideas instead of judging us or being fearful.

When you realise the virtue of reading, you would see that critism improve the society, civiization and ourselves; besides increase the awareness, responsibility and self-esteem. That time you would tell us the value of freedom and humanity. You would advice to embrace and respect all diversity instead of hating, so that we would just think that all other cultures, achievements, ideas are real wealthiness and we are all equal as a human being. After all, we would work and give effort to improve the civilization, to improve our perspective; not to be society or how to live together with different cultures. We would not still think about the fundamentals. Who knows, maybe we would lead the world with high profile…

You couldn’t realise that virtue, hope your children will.