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Posted Thursday, May 08, 2008 2:52 PM

Stephen King and Controversy Over Army Literacy

David Botti
A war of words began recently between writer Stephen King and a conservative blogger over remarks King made about literacy and the U.S. Army.  During an appearance at the Library of Congress last month King said:

"I don't want to sound like an ad, a public service ad on TV, but the fact is if you can read, you can walk into a job later on. If you don't, then you've got the Army, Iraq, I don't know, something like that. It's not as bright."

Blogger Noel Sheppard of the Website NewsBusters: Exposing and Combating Liberal Media Bias, criticized King and likened his words to those of John Kerry when he said in 2006 that having a poor education would get someone stuck in Iraq.  Sheppard wrote further: "Nice sentiment when the nation is at war, Stephen."

After Sheppard's blog post appeared, King countered on his own Website:

I guess he also feels that the war in Iraq has nationwide approval. Well, it doesn’t have mine. It is a waste of national resources...and that includes the youth and blood of the 4,000 American troops who have lost their lives there and for the tens of thousands who have been wounded. I live in a national guard town, and I support our troops, but I don’t support either the war or educational policies that limit the options of young men and women to any one career—military or otherwise.

King further instructed readers of his website to email Sheppard with the words: “Hi, Noel—Stephen King says to shut up and I agree.”

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. Army released a statement yesterday responding to King's remarks:

"America's soldiers are proudly serving and fighting for us all. We can be proud of our soldiers' selfless service, their skill and their ingenuity. They certainly are role models for every high-school student in America considering a noble career...and many book authors."

Just as John Kerry's 2006 remarks sparked the ire of veterans and average citizens alike, King has found himself the subject some negative blogging since Sheppard's original post.  One commenter for the original post did offer a point of view from the middle ground:

I actually don't think King meant to insult the troops. He made a mistake of trotting out an outdated draft-era notion about the military to prove a totally different point. But he compounded his error by lashing out at those who pointed out his mistake. Now it's a "thing" in the media, and he's not looking very good, or smart.
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Member Comments

Posted By: mideastvet (June 23, 2008 at 6:07 PM)

the fact of my service and qualifications as a former Vet disqualifies me from HR's locally who can't or won't pay me a liveable wage, about 27 dollars an hr if you can put it into 40hr work week.  anyone who joined the service knows it's more like 80 to 90 and often times days mix together, with birthdays and holidays, family time out the window

my education level is mid college and in order to get a decent wage I have to take entry level jobs or move to big cities with high cost of living...I want simplicity and just to exist...after 6 tours of middle east beginning in 91 I've had it

anyone else still want to join and now face Iran can have it


Posted By: mideastvet (June 23, 2008 at 6:03 PM)

in my area you have very low paying servile type jobs, and then you have the military with beginning salaries more than double as a Fed employee working as a soldier

I don't think Stephen King was too far off base


Posted By: glmoor2 (May 17, 2008 at 7:15 PM)

I have known people from all walks of life join the Army, not because of illiteracy or that they were uneducated, but because of their pride in the country and the fervor of patriotism that energized America after the 9/11 attacks.  I have witnessed co-operate vice-presidents and even professional athletes walk away from the money and power to enlist in the Army and ultimately give their lives for the country.  I have served with privates, sergeants, and 2nd lieutenants, with master degrees and doctorates.  Does this sound like illiterate or uneducated people?  I think the following is what an uneducated person sounds like.  

I don’t want to sound like an ad–a public service ad on TV–but the fact is that if you can read you can walk into a job later on. If you don’t then you got the Army, Iraq, I don’t know, something like that. It’s not as bright. So that’s my little commercial for that.

My wife completed her undergraduate degree in business management in 2001.  She was hired as the Director of Economic Development for a national non-profit organization.  After completing her MBA in 2006, she joined the Army.  Again this does not imply that she joined because she was illiterate, but to serve her country.  I have three degrees.  In college I was a double major, graduated with a 3.906 GPA and was the number one graduate in the School of Technology at the university in 1998.  I obtained my MBA in 2006.  I am currently attending the Intermediate Level Education (ILE) Course at the Army’s Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  My staff group consists of 14 officers from different service and countries.  Five of the 14 already have graduate degrees and the other 9 are 50% to 70% complete with their graduate degrees. After graduating ILE, if I am selected for School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), a very competitive Army school in which the average work load is reading 120+ pages a night, and graduate, I will obtain another graduate degree.

Finally, I’m happy to learn from Stephen King himself that I stopped reading his books,   because I’m in the Army and not because his books are intellectual trash.  The beauty of America is that the sons and daughters of the American people sacrifice their lives for the freedoms that Americans enjoys.  

So although, as a Soldier I find Steven King, his views, and remarks reprehensible, I, my wife, and all the others who serve this great nation, do freely give our lives so that he and every other American can languish in the freedom we provide, to insult those that pay for him his freedom in blood.