Dear Mr. State Representative,

So the assignment I had due in class today was to write a persuasive letter to someone in authority (i.e. a state representative, senator, the FCC, the ESRB, etc.) regarding something that should change concerning media.  I looked through my notes and thought about what I had learned over the course of the semester and decided to write about implementing a book rating system.  I had a hard time choosing who I would address my letter to, seeing as there are absolutely NO review boards for book ratings...so I decided to pose this question to my local government, specifically Utah State Representative, Jason Chaffetz.  Below is my full letter, but I have to add that this is a very important topic! Many books have SO much inappropriate and harmful content, but they are not monitored like video games or movies...and this is not okay!  Children and adolescents become more aggressive (among other negative side affects) when they read about aggression in books.  This detracts from their overall well-being and in order to be the best and most involved kind of citizens, our policy about book ratings needs to change.

Dear State Representative Jason Chaffetz:

As current state representative, your responsibility lies in serving the citizens of Utah, both permanent and temporary residents.  I am currently attending Brigham Young University and am studying Family Life.  At present, I am enrolled in a Media, Family, and Human Development class.  In this class, I have learned that books do not have a rating system.  According to recent studies, such as Coyne and Archer (2004), reading one hour of books contained almost double the amount of aggression than in one hour of television.  This is a danger that could potentially influence an increase in children’s and adolescents’ aggressive behaviors.  I am afraid that this source of media is being overlooked as a possible threat to the well-being of youth everywhere, including in Utah.  The purpose of this letter is to request that this problem concerning the nonexistence of book ratings be examined and at best, changed because of the content found in many books aimed at youth.

To give more background on the research for this topic, verbal abuse and relational aggression were extensively found in Coyne et al. (2004)’s study of aggression in adolescent literature.  These forms of aggression were mostly seen as acts that held no consequences.  Now I ask you, what is this teaching our youth?  I suggest that a rating system, like those that rate video games or films, be implemented in our books.  The content found in much literature is often harmful, yet still available to our youth.  I ask that perhaps a review board or rating system be created for this media source so that our country’s youth are not as widely exposed to harmful content.  This will help parents, schools, and bookstores to monitor what is being read, purchased, and checked out by America’s youth. 

Knowing that you are a steward over many citizens, my reason for addressing this letter to you is because you have influence over the protection of Utah’s youth.  The most favorable option concerning this matter was to contact my local government regarding the change needed in this area.  Unfortunately, there are absolutely no review boards or rating organizations for books.  I ask you to help in generating this book rating review board, or direct me to reliable sources where I can do so.  This cause needs help and in order to inspire change concerning this topic, action must be taken.  Thank you for your time. 

A caring citizen,

  

Katherine Klotzer