Actually I don't judge someone on whether or not they read The Odyssey and the Iliad in high school, or ever. Just as I don't judge anyone who hasn't read War & Peace or Antigone or Wuthering Heights or Romeo & Juliet or The Epic of Gilgamesh or Pride & Prejudice or The Great Gatsby or any other literary classic! You are not better than someone because you are more well read!!!!
Books are great and should be read, and I do think the best way to address the literary crisis is to assume you're part of the problem and better yourself. But I also don't think you are a worse person, a lesser person, if you're in the "I've never read the odyssey and I don't really want to" camp!! You grow a lot as a person by consuming these books...but you can also grow a lot as a person by consuming other books!! I'd rather be surrounded by people who aren't well read, then people who are and look down upon others!!!
