We All Need Your Opinions

Why do so many people put out the effort to influence other people’s thinking by writing letters to the editor? It is clear they sense the truth of Abe Lincoln’s notion when he said, “Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed.” And since we live in a democracy, expressing our ideas is one of the joys and obligations of being free.
We have ideas, and we think the world would be a better place if more people held ours. So, we put forth the effort to spread them. That is what is so wonderful about America. People exchange their ideas freely. In this free exchange, some rise to the top and are tested. If they are workable, they win out over time.
Since an exchange of ideas changes things, how do we go about communicating ours and listening to opposing views in such a way that all benefit? When expressing a point of view, it is more productive to avoid attacking others for their views and motives. Just because their views differ, does not make them wrong, or evil. And when we see someone ridiculing others, we should assume he lacks confidence in his own reasoning, and then we in turn need to pay extra close attention.
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Think Critically. Let the mocker convict himself in the court of public opinion.
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As an example, my wife and I recently each wrote on problems we have observed in our national welfare system. Others wrote letters to the editor in response. This is great, because neither my wife nor I have a lock on wisdom; we do have our points of view, which we each have come to over the course of our lives. Others have had different life experiences and have come to other potentially valid conclusions on any and every topic.
Because she and I took the time to express our opinions, and others took their time to express theirs, there is a diversity of opinion competing for your support in the marketplace of ideas. This dialog is what made our nation the strong country it has become.
There are other things we can do to improve this interchange of thoughts. It is not uncommon for someone to tell me that he or she does not write letters to the editor because he chooses to avoid the abuse others receive to their letters. I encourage them to write anyway, for the good of the whole, leaving the mocker to convict himself in the court of public opinion.
In addition, we at the Herald are striving to edit letters more tightly to reduce attacks on people, and to spare the reader from having to wade through needlessly long letters. So please, be brief; the fewer the words, the more likely the letter is to be read…and remembered.
Since we live in a wonderful nation…and we have elections upcoming, exercise your free-speech right, and submit your thoughts as letters to the editor. Thoughts are powerful, in fact, they are mightier than the sword.
Art Hall, publisher
To submit a letter to the editor: You may go to www.cmcherald.com to Opinion in the top (blue) navigation bar, then click on Letter to Editor: Submit. Also, you may drop off or mail your letter to the editor to The Herald, 1508 Route 47, Rio Grande, New Jersey 08242.