Copy of A Letter to President Snow

Political reform is essential. We must develop a system in which the Districts are equal to the Capitol. The Districts do not have to be the only ones that benefit. You could benefit as well.

We are asking for justice and equality. We are asking for basic rights and freedoms that are granted to the people in the Capitol and not to the people in the Districts. We are asking for an end to the Hunger Games.

There is more to us than just grey eyes and sad, worn faces. We are people. We are people just the same as the people living with you in the Capitol. We have family and we have feelings. However, you have stripped us of living fulfilling and worthwhile lives.

You think you are keeping us in line? You are wrong. You’re enabling us. You are setting yourself up for a rebellion that is far beyond your control. Each day that passes is a day that builds up the anger inside of us. It’s another day we spend watching loved ones sit and starve. Let me ask you this, President Snow: Have you ever put yourself in the shoes of the people living in the Seam?

You could keep your place as President of Panem. All you must do is rule in a different way. You would no longer be associated with killing children in your arena each year. You wouldn’t have to fall asleep knowing their families are devastated. The loss of a family member is among the worst pain one can feel. Once you create peace in Panem, you too will find an inner peace.

We send our men into the mines like troops go into war, never knowing if they will return.

My Best Wishes,

Tamarisk Hawson

I am sure it is easy for you to think that you are making the right political decisions while living in the Capitol, but come take a look at the other side. You will see that what you view as successful in practical terms, is hurting countless people. I do not only speak for myself when I discuss these problems. I speak for the people of my District. We are asking you to consider doing what is moral. We understand that making decisions as the leader of a country is not an easy thing to do. However, we need you to do what is moral for the sake of the people in District 11. We are hardly getting by and we know you have the ability to help us.

The way I see it.

I wonder if you ever feel shame. Are you aware that we know your tricks? I refuse to think that you are unaware of the mindset of the people of his land. Therefore, you must know that eventually this will all catch up with you. This tearing down of the Districts and rising up of the Capitol is not the way Panem should be. We can live in peace so long as you allow it. Relieve us of our struggles and allow us to enjoy a life free from the restraints of the Games. If you don’t help us for the simple reason of acting as a moral man would, do it for political reasons.

Your use of pragmatism and utilitarianism are bringing down Panem. As President of Panem, your concern should be every single person, not just the well being of those living in the Capitol. Do you truly believe in your heart that what you are doing brings happiness to the majority of people?

In protest of the injustices occurring in the Districts.

I am writing this letter as a young woman from District 11. When I say young woman, I hope you realize I have been forced to prematurely refer to myself as a "woman" due to the rate at which children are forced to grow up and take on the responsibilities of adults within District.

I am sure you are well aware of this though.

A Letter to President Snow

Please do not ignore what I am telling you or forget the words I have written on this page. I am a young woman desperately begging you to change the way Panem is ruled for the sake of people everywhere. Do not let another child grow up in fear of the Reaping. Do not allow my brothers and sisters to accept tesserae in exchange for the amount of times their names appear in the Reaping. I simply cannot watch another starving person die or another mine explosion kill our people. All we have here is family, and even that is at constant risk of being torn apart.

I am fifteen years old. I am a caretaker. I am a sister.

I am a daughter. I am a friend.

I am not proposing that the Districts enjoy every single indulgence that the people of the Capitol enjoy. I am proposing that you change the system and improve the lives of all your citizens rather than just the citizens in the Capitol. I cannot thank you enough for the time you have taken to read my letter.

However, most importantly to you, I am a piece in a game much bigger then myself. I am an object of manipulation. I am a name in a jar waiting to get called. I am many things. But, most of these things mean nothing more to you then my name.

You may think you have sufficiently manipulated our minds into thinking the Hunger Games are necessary for the stability of Panem. However, we have not been fooled. The video you force us to view each year is only a reminder of the ones we have lost to the disgracefulness of the Capitol.

Throughout this letter I am hoping to make you see that I am more then a game piece. I am much more then just a woman living in the Seam, waiting to get called into your arena. I am hoping to open your eyes to the world you have created using the influences of pragmatism and utilitarianism. With the utmost respect I will show you Panem in a different way.

I hope you are informed of the problems taking place within the districts. I am sure that if you were aware of the severity of the problems, then you would not be allowing them to occur. Not if you are a moral man. Consider what morals truly are. Think about the people you are hurting and the families you are destroying by allowing Panem to function in the way that it is functioning now.

My name is Tamarisk Hawson.

Not only have I experienced life in District 12, but I have experienced the loss of my own brother in last year’s Hunger Games. I know what being from the Seam means. I have observed enough to realize what you are doing in order to keep the Districts under your control.

There are eleven districts. That is eleven districts worth of people simply living to fuel the Capitol. Eleven districts struggling. Of course, who am I to put words in the mouths of the other districts? I assume, however, that they are running quite similarly to District 11. President Snow, you cannot rule by the doctrine of utilitarianism any longer! You have abandoned the ideas of justice and freedom and are treating your districts in ways that only benefit one reigning body: The Capitol. We give you everything you have. We fuel you. Yet, what do we get in return. We have essentially become your slaves. Leave the Dark Days in the past and look at the future.

Think about me.

I do not wish for you to feel anger after reading this letter. I want you to see all the innocent people facing struggles every day due to your rulings. If you do not want another war, why are you creating one? Can’t you see that you are creating the sparks that will eventually ignite a rebellion? Human beings can only handle so much. We can only watch so many children die and we can only take so much injustice. I am asking you to think wisely. Think about what another rebellion would look like for Panem. You possess the power to create the change that is so badly needed. Use it.

Put yourself in the shoes of a fifteen year old woman living in the Seam with the responsibility of bringing food home every evening and making sure there is enough to survive.

Life should not be purely about the means to survive. It should be about much more. It should be about enjoyment, satisfaction, and happiness, in addition to, hard work and family.