Check out this article:

http://townhall.com/columnists/MattTowery/2009/04/23/the_honoring_of_ignorance?page=1

It is an excellent comment on the sorry state of an informed citizenry in the USA today. I have read numerous articles on writing for younger Americans, and it concerns me to think of the writing style that must be employed to even hope to get (and keep) the attention of the younger reader today.

Worse yet is the fact that with a steady diet of television and the Internet even I, a lifelong avid reader, found my own attention span shortening. When I realized that, I took steps to reverse the trend and make sure it didn’t return. Things like actually reading books again. Going out of my way to read thought-provoking articles – even articles written by people whose point of view is diametrically opposed to my own. And occasionally sitting down and trying to put in writing my own attitudes and opinions.

I’ve long heard the saying, “If you want to learn something really well, attempt to teach it.” That applies to knowledge and thought in general. If you want to really come to grips with how you feel about a topic, try to write it down to express it or defend it to another.