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TechnographBanning Kurt Vonnegut and other sins against man
By Brian Pierce
Posted: 4/16/07 Section: Opinion Columns
Anybody who is an avid fan of "The West Wing" will remember an episode early in the series in which President Bartlett becomes obsessed during midterm elections not with a potential Democratic takeover but instead with an ultraconservative candidate running for a seat on the school board in his New Hampshire hometown. Nobody is taking the race quite as seriously as the President is, and finally he breaks down and argues that all candidates like these have to do is, "bit by little bit, get themselves on the Boards of Education and city councils, because that's where all the governing that really matters to anybody really happens."
There is a kernel of truth in President Bartlett's statement in spite of his hyperbole. For all the charged debates we have on the national level, it is local government that does much of the decision-making that affects the most basic elements of our daily lives.
And so it is no surprise that this fictional West Wing subplot can teach us a real-life lesson about a school board race that could affect the younger brothers and sisters of some of the readers of this page.
District 214 is an Illinois school district that covers six high schools in Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, and Wheeling. The school board election is tomorrow and will be the culmination of the most expensive campaign District 214 has ever seen.
The incumbents - Bill Dussling, Alva Kreutzer, and Robert Zimmanck - have collectively raised $40,000 in a race that usually sees fundraising goals set at around the $500 level. Two challengers - Dennis Konczyk and Ken Frizane - have garnered the support of conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly and former Republican senatorial and gubernatorial candidate Jim Oberweis. The two challengers have collectively raised $8,000.
The race has managed to achieve such record-breaking fundraising levels and attract such unprecedented levels of attention because it centers around a proposed ban on books that failed by a 6-1 vote by the school board last year. The single dissenting vote was that of Leslie Pinney, who in 2005 raised $20,000 - mostly from the conservative Family Taxpayers Network - to win her election.
There is a kernel of truth in President Bartlett's statement in spite of his hyperbole. For all the charged debates we have on the national level, it is local government that does much of the decision-making that affects the most basic elements of our daily lives.
And so it is no surprise that this fictional West Wing subplot can teach us a real-life lesson about a school board race that could affect the younger brothers and sisters of some of the readers of this page.
District 214 is an Illinois school district that covers six high schools in Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, and Wheeling. The school board election is tomorrow and will be the culmination of the most expensive campaign District 214 has ever seen.
The incumbents - Bill Dussling, Alva Kreutzer, and Robert Zimmanck - have collectively raised $40,000 in a race that usually sees fundraising goals set at around the $500 level. Two challengers - Dennis Konczyk and Ken Frizane - have garnered the support of conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly and former Republican senatorial and gubernatorial candidate Jim Oberweis. The two challengers have collectively raised $8,000.
The race has managed to achieve such record-breaking fundraising levels and attract such unprecedented levels of attention because it centers around a proposed ban on books that failed by a 6-1 vote by the school board last year. The single dissenting vote was that of Leslie Pinney, who in 2005 raised $20,000 - mostly from the conservative Family Taxpayers Network - to win her election.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Linda
posted 4/16/07 @ 1:57 AM CST
Brian, reading you is always amusing. Even when one agrees with you. Yes, a ban on books, even on books which can be reasonably seen as objectionable for the young mind, is unsavory to any person who enjoys freedom. (Continued…)
Jon
posted 4/16/07 @ 3:21 AM CST
Marginally better looking? Linda, give the kid a break. There is at least a three-point gap between Bambi and Brian on a 1-10 scale. Have at least a little faith in my taste. (Continued…)
Observer
posted 4/16/07 @ 8:40 AM CST
So one board member out of seven wanted to ban these books, and that turns into "oh no, those neocon far righties might get elected, and even though they have spoken no intention of siding with this lone board member, they could do so in a heartbeat". (Continued…)
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