Snowball Effect

The book examines how a minor incident can grow exponentially, or snowball, especially if it hits upon a hot-button issue like patriotism. Philip Malloy’s suspension happened because he broke a school-wide rule three times and then refused to apologize to his teacher. Yet people who heard about the national story did not care about school policies or Phil’s prior disrespect toward Miss Narwin; all that people selectively heard was a student was kicked out of school for singing along to the national anthem. The outrage started in Harrison Township with the article in the local newspaper and spread throughout the nation, gaining momentum, with the publishing of a national wire story. The ire grew even more as radio hosts like Jake Barlow denounced Miss Narwin and thrust the scandal further into the spotlight.

The people at the heart of the incident were ill prepared for...