“Reading, in contrast to sitting before the screen, is not a purely passive exercise.”

— George F. Kennan

“American Addictions” in New Oxford Review (June 1993)
Context: Reading, in contrast to sitting before the screen, is not a purely passive exercise. The child, particularly one who reads a book dealing with real life, has nothing before it but the hieroglyphics of the printed page. Imagination must do the rest; and imagination is called upon to do it. Not so the television screen. Here everything is spelled out for the viewer, visually, in motion, and in all three dimensions. No effort of imagination is called upon for its enjoyment.

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George F. Kennan 46

American advisor, diplomat, political scientist and histori… 1904–2005

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