I've been reading (or thinking I could read) for far back as I can remember. Reading is freedom. Reading is power. Reading is the cure.
Long before it became fashionable to be a nerd, I had my nose in a book somewhere. Learning to read may well be the most valuable free gift in the entire world.
Something very powerful exists in the ability to read and comprehend. So many selfish people out there depend on the illiteracy of others to build their own power base...journalists, politicians, business folks, so-called friends who love to be the "smartest" one in your circle. A person who controls your mind controls your behavior. If you cannot read and
comprehend on your own, you are literally controlled by someone else's interpretation of the truth. Reading frees the mind to infinite possibilities.
Readers are leaders.