Various reasons for going to school

One of the reasons the editorial page is so much fun is that you become aware of how perception of a condition or event is influenced by attitudes, experiences and our biological senses. A writer was railing about a syndicated author who last week was providing strategies for dealing with children who do not want to go to school (“Quit your complaining and go to school,” Nov. 28). I learned something quite profound. If one attempts to reason with the child concerning going to school being an excellent idea, one is undoubtedly a liberal. Conversely, this guy was told by his mother to go to school or get a whack on the back end.

My parents reasoned with me all the time about the benefits of going to school, as opposed to staying home or skipping. Oh, and I should say that my family is very liberal. I have a college degree and to top things off, we lived in northwest Iowa where being a liberal can be quite hazardous to one's health.

I was thinking about all of this on Monday as I was driving on Interstate 380. My mind switched quickly from liberalism and going to school, when I looked in my rearview mirror and could only see the nameplate “Peterbilt” and part of the grill of an 18-wheeler. I glanced down and realized I was going 80 mph! We blew past a highway patrolman parked in the median. He glanced at us and yawned.

Jack Pilling

Cedar Rapids