It's not just a book, It's also a social study!!!

I hated the term Social Studies. I didn't even hear it till I got into junior high school. I don't know what the hell that was!! I don't wanna study social things!! I don't even like to study!! but it was part of the school curriculum so I had to take it. I don't know about what Social Studies class you guys had to take in any of the schools you went to, but mine turned out to be more history than anything else. I never recalled having a class where we discussed relations between races or ethnic or religious groups. Satellite East JHS? their social studies class was global history. Same thing with Bushwick High School.

Now, history, that was something I enjoyed. Learning about other places, countries, peoples and cultures, now that was cool. I don't recall whether or not I had any real compassionate adults that taught the subject, (I do remember Mr.Stern, my junior high Social Studies/global history teacher who popped a mental gasket one day when he realized not every kid in the class had written down the homework assignment from the chalkboard one day..) Outside of that, I had no adults teach me anything about relating to other human beings in any setting.

And I wonder if that is one of our problems.

If our educational system does not feel obligated to teach our youth about how to relate to people of other cultures, religions or sexual orientations, then how exactly are they to be expected to be tolerant and understanding as adults?

I was watching the movie Mississippi Burning last weekend, (a film which has always resonated with me no matter how many times i watch it) and one of the characters, a female who was married to one of the racist police said what i have always believed about racism. (no one is born a racist. It is taught and it is acquired)

I love the Sci Fi fantasy genre. I always have. anything that gets a person's imagination to soaring and expanding beyond its boundaries is a wonderful thing. One half of my mental universe is always in that realm and will never leave. But as a Latino male who has heard and experienced his share of racial perception, hostility and indifference, the other half of my mental universe is always comprised of tales of intolerance, defiance, understanding and racial harmony.

all of those facets and factors combined to make A Distant Battlefield, my own little Social Study.

Yes, the novel is Sci fi on its surface, full of action, and drama and all the things needed to make a story experience that you will not be able to put down or dismiss quickly. I guarantee that these will be the fastest 440 pages you have ever read in your life.

But underneath that surface, I feed the other side of your brain as well with a Social lesson. A question really. Can a group of strangers from diverse backgrounds put their suspicions and hostilities and preconceived notions of certain people aside long enough to deal with a situation together as human beings?

I'm hoping you bring both sides of your brain with you when you read my words. I'm hoping you enjoy the characters, concepts, action sequences as well as the comedy relief,drama and intrigue that my tale will provide.

Hope you are ready for an interesting Social Study..