Your story and the consequences that followed came to my attention today. I thought I'd write you. I know you'll like this, because it's pretty clear you're deeply into getting attention.
To begin with, I would like to share my concerns for the state of your mental health. You seem to be suffering from some control issues, as, while you have taken your children out of public school, you still feel the need to obsess about what happens in the public school. You went so far as to write, well, many letters about the books in the school library.
Sometimes we just lack a self-awareness when we do things. I have included, for your benefit, how your nattering letters about the books are perceived by others. Enjoy.
I would also like to express my disappointment in how little you understand about America and how our system works. You wrote that you did not like books that "create false conceptions of American history and government ." This is rather ironic because by advocating the banning of books, you, yourself, are going against the very fabric of what America stands for.
America is about the free flowing exchange and expression of ideas. People are allowed to believe and think and even write about anything they want. Will these ideas always be pleasing? No. Will they always make us comfortable and happy? No. Will we always agree with them? No.
What you are advocating though, is that the school board, which, in its small way, IS the governing body here, ban books. Consider this, really think about it . . . you are asking a governing body to stop the free flow of ideas, to control the access . . . which is, honestly, the very nature of all of the evil forms of government ours have always fought against.
Books should never be banned. No matter how distasteful they are, no matter how poorly written, no matter how much it offends you, the book should never be banned. If you don't like the book, write your own to counteract it. Live a life that contradicts it. Don't ban it. Banning it just makes you look cowardly, like you don't have enough faith in your ways and ideas to believe they will prove better than whatever the book said.
Finally, I would like to thank you.
That's right, Wes, I would like to thank you.
You see, before your big fuss and ruckus, I bet most of the teenagers at Republic High School didn't give a flying fuck about these books. If asked to read them, they would have marginally scanned the Wikipedia entries about them, basically just enough to pass a test or not look like complete idiots if asked a question.
If a movie exists of the book, they may have watched that, provided it was streaming off Netflix. While the movie was playing, they would have texted their friends, played video games, listened to music, and read gossip on Facebook. Once the test was over, they would have forgotten about it completely.
See, at that point, you had apathy on your side.
However, because you made your big stink and because the school board, for some insane reason, took you seriously and banned these books, you have guaranteed the kids from RHS will not only read these books, but they will READ THE SHIT out of them. They will devour the content, discuss the subtext, debate with each other about character motive and plot twists.
They will remember every detail of these books, be able to intelligently discuss mood and setting, understand the historical context. They will read commentaries and join discussion boards and probably write college papers over these books.
And why will they do this? Ahh, well, Wes, they'll do it because of you. You made these books go from boring to interesting, taboo, and forbidden. You woke up the jaded and bored teens and whispered to them of dangers and lewdness. You have managed to seduce them into reading, you old pervy creeper, and you will probably, in the process, manage to make them think about what they're reading.
So, I not only thank you, I applaud you. Through your mental issues and lack of self-awareness, through your willingness to play Thought Police, and your capacity to be a squeaky wheel, you have awakened a new found love for books in people who under ordinary circumstances may have never read anything longer than a blog post in their lives.
For that, you are awesome, even if unintentionally so.
TTFN,
Blackhaired Barbie
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