Letters To The Editor Open Writer To Praise, Criticism
I write letters to the editor. I do it because I have a stake in my city, my county, my state and my country.
I am an interested American.
When this newspaper prints my letters it also prints my name and city in bold letters. That makes my address and phone number as near as the local phone book for anyone who has an opinion they want to share with me. Believe me, this leads me to some interesting Americans.
As sure as the sun rises on a day one of my letters appears, my phone rings.
“Hello.”
“Is this the guy who wrote to the paper?”
“Yes”
At this time the caller usually informs me that I am either a left-wing liberal nut or a right-wing Christian Nazi zealot.
I pity my poor overworked mailman. For a few days I receive many tracts and letters including some of the most malevolent and hateful writings purporting to be “the real truth.” I get a lot of money-making, marketing letters too.
Some callers and writers really do touch me, however.
My wife and I opposed the Pacific Science Center as it appeared on the ballot in Spokane in 1995 and we wrote a letter to the editor saying so. We didn’t oppose the center itself, but we did not want government funds to subsidize it.
About 9:30 the evening the letter was published a young lady called me. She started out very angry but as we talked she became more relaxed. She would not share her name but she made an eloquent and very persuasive argument for the center. We spoke for probably 20 minutes.
This was a beautiful conversation and I’m glad I had it. I wish I could meet that woman and find out if she is as interested and knowledgeable about other subjects as she is about this one. She really reached me, and if the Science Center comes up again, I will support it.
That’s just one example of callers whose opinions I came to respect. This is what political dialogue is all about.
For sharing my opinions, I have been congratulated at times and I have had a few nuts threaten to tighten my loose screws.
I will continue to write letters to the editor when I have something to say, and I want the good folks to keep reacting to my opinions. Some of those reactions make me laugh, some make me cry, but all make me think.
MEMO: “Your turn” is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a “Your turn” column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write “Your turn,” The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane 99210-1615.