Roy Caldwell

The Springfield Story Roy Caldwell

The Springfield Story is a short satirical novel, loosely inspired by the first chapters of Candide. It tells the story of an American high school which decides to make its small contribution to the counter-terrorist efforts organized by the big boys in Washington. The Principal of Springfield High, legendary ex-football coach Stonewall Johnson, determines that his institution, "best of all possible high schools," must be a target for the next round of terrorist attacks. He responds by arming the football players with automatic weapons, and ordering regular sweeps of school property. This book makes no attempt to give a true likeness of a real American community. Through black humor, caricature, and systematic grotesquerie, it denounces the violence, the ignorance, and the xenophobic hatred which are eating away at America. Its story is a parable of a profound failure of leadership. Springfield High is a mirror of a society where the fathers are betraying their children.