When you walk down the quai along the Seine in Paris, there are used book kiosks for kilometers. The bouquinistes have been there for many years and maybe they are the true enduring heart of French values. Americans consume TV like the French read books, at least in the capital. It is no surprise the overall awareness of the population is far more attuned to the realities of a modern world. America has outsourced their perception of the world to megacorporations hell bent on profit. Reading is an ethical act, and it is also a necessary one (we are finding out) for Democracy.