Hirsch went on to make the case that literacy is far more than a skill; it requires certain essential knowledge if we are to function effectively in the world and collaborate in society. "To grasp the words on a page," he said, "we have to know a lot of information that isn't on the page." He called this knowledge "cultural literacy", and described it as that network of information all competent readers possess. It's what enables us to read a book or an article with an adequate level of comprehension, getting the point, grasping the implications, reaching conclusions. Our common information. Some people criticized Hirsch on grounds that teaching the traditional literature culture means teaching elitist information. That is an illusion, he says; literature culture is the most democratic culture in our land; it excludes nobody; it cuts across generations and social groups and classes; it's what every American needs to know, not only because knowing it is a good thing but also because other people know it too. 

KEYNOTE ADDRESS OF BILL MOYERS AT THE PBS ANNUAL MEETING, JUNE 23, 1996, San Francisco, CA