River City, IA in Littleton, CO

My wife directed three outstanding performances this weekend of the musical "The Music Man." Those of you who are not connoisseurs in musical theater, this show is set in the early 1900's and is the story of people in River City, IA and the nice little world they have created by being insulated from most things in the outside world. While in the midst of this commune, of sorts, Harold Hill comes into the town in an effort to scam the local people into selling them a boys band. Harold manipulates the people into believing they have serious moral problems in the town, as can be evidently seen by the presence of a pool table. Ok, now there is a love story and other interesting plot lines, this overarching theme is my focus. I found the setting of River City and that of many concerned parent groups at my wife's school eerily similar. Now, I have no idea if anyone from that group will ever read this, but this is not an attempt on my part to be vindictive, I am hoping to convey some of the facts.

1. A sense of moral superiority rooted in the desire to save "the children" and agitated to believe a lie based on manipulated evidence.

2. The need and necessity for credentials that fit within an accepted norm.

3. Becoming agitated by authors who are merely thought to be inappropriate, but have actually been engaged on rare and minute instances.

4. And finally, this sense of moral superiority blinds us to the fruits in our lives and others.

While I am aware if you don't know the situations I am referring to this is a bit cryptic, but the comparison is not exact. Anyway, great job Erica on an awesome job. You make those kids shine.