I was out at a borg book store this week, wandering around looking for a few particular books. I want to become a quasi-expert on a few subjects I have only remotely been a part of, and never really needed to understand too deeply. It is truly a wonder, that between a few hours reading books, and the internet I can become somewhat knowledgeable on almost any subject that I become interested in.
This is an excellent topic to be grateful for today! Having the freedom to be able to go out and obtain a book on almost any subject, and being able to use an internet that is not controlled or stifled if I can not find a book locally.
When I was a child in a small town, our library was pretty limited. I outgrew the small school library fairly soon, and my Mom started taking me to the city to the Carnegie library. I did not know a lot about the Carnegie library, except that Mr. Carnegie was famous for Steel, and he sure was a generous man, building these libraries for kids like me! I went from a small two room library to a library with more than one floor! It was absolutely amazing at the time that there were so many books in the world and I had access to all of them!
If I can not find what I want at an online book seller, then of course there are the vast resources of the internet! Anything we humans can comprehend is being written about and published on the internet in on form or another. I remember being on irc (internet relay chat) a few years ago.
I was chatting with someone from across the world. They were lamenting the quality of television in their country. I asked what type programming they had. American television and programming from their country and adjoining countries cam back the reply. I then asked why they thought that was bad. They told me that their communication network is so controlled and moderated, that many American television programs such as a weeknight comedy is chopped up to the point that sometimes it is impossible to make sense of the show.
That conversation helped me understand what it means to have access to almost unlimited media information. From television, movies, books, music, and radio. It is all there and all I have to do is look for it. For that I am grateful. I am grateful, that I can read, listen, or watch a documentary about any subject I may be interested in, or I can think of.
Consider even this blog entry. Without a lot of fuss, a simple search will likely show many people who disagree with this post, and many who agree with it. The topic will be commented on somewhere, and there may even be a video on it too! What a wonderful thing this is to be grateful for!
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