Help out this fifth grader!

I just received the following e-mail, which I’ve edited a bit: My name is *******. I am in the fifth grade…. As part of my class project for American Studies we have to write an essay on a current event and relate that to information on the internet. As part of my project I have ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

I just received the following e-mail, which I've edited a bit:

I just received the following e-mail, which I’ve edited a bit:

My name is *******. I am in the fifth grade…. As part of my class project for American Studies we have to write an essay on a current event and relate that to information on the internet. As part of my project I have decided to write an essay on the Iraq War. My father is not a supporter of the war and belongs to some groups that are for peace. One of his coworkers said I should not just write about the war but about what people on the internet think about it. There is an essay on the war that my father read about that he thinks would be perfect for my topic but it would be better to see what bloggers think about it. It is not in support of the war and is called Iraq, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, And The Couch Potato’s Burden…. My father says I should send it to some people who are for the war, some people who are against the war, and other people who are in the middle. I can then see why people who have the same ideas might have different reasons…. PS- I know you are a professor but I would appreciate it if you could use simpler words. My father says you are for the war but not a person full of anger, so I should try you. (emphasis added)

Alas, as a professor I’m congenitally incapable can’t write using only simple words anymore. So I’ll turn this one over to my readers.

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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