I have a theory. Humans feel isolated, as a rule. They feel that no one faces the problems that they do, and that they are alone in their special situation. And THAT is why we must read. Literature is evidence that the human condition is universal. There is NO NEW feeling. No new condition--we are more alike than we are different. And literature is our proof.
Every day I hear students say "I hate reading. I hate poetry."
what I hear is "I hate discomfort".
A great writer once said that she knows she is reading poetry when it feels like the top of her head has been ripped off.
I don't always want to work out my body, but I am ALWAYS glad when I did. Similarly, students do not always want to read, but I am always glad when they did...
And therein lies the problem. THEY are not glad, I am. And this, I believe, is at the heart of the school shootings.
This English teacher has a theory:
Reading leads to the discovery that we are not alone. Which leads us to compassion for others. NOT reading, or reading reluctantly, works the "I AM COMPLETELY UNIQUE IN MY PAIN" muscle, which leads us to anger towards others.
The human condition, as shown in every book, is part love, part hate, part victim, part monster, but all, and I mean ALL, a shared experience. We are not human in isolation, we are human together.
I believe that these campus shooters are among those who don't willingly, hungrily, openly read.
And so my purpose is clearer than ever--
Read, read read.
Write write write
Enchant the discouraged into seeing that they are the protagonist in stories like "The Little Engine that Could".
And hope to encourage those who feel alone to publish their manifestos instead of shooting.