The single largest anti-reading force today is television. Where reading is profound, television is shallow. If it isn't, he can't be elected. Menachem Begin's media advisors told him he had to stop wearing shirts with oversized collars, since a shirt with an oversized collar makes a man appear terminally ill. John Turner's media advisors told him he had to break his habit of licking his lips.
TV turns human anguish into entertainment.
The effect on the human mind and heart is deadly. Never forget that the average TV news story lasts 45 seconds. Visual stimulation is a shabby substitute for thought, just as emotional manipulation is a shabby substitute for verbal precision. Biography is one of my favourites. As we read biography we realize we are not alone in the Christian venture.