Letter: Plenty of problems with recent letter

Posted 4/23/19

To the editor:

I would like to thank Ms. Haynes for the great didactic example of how not to conduct a discussion on pages of a newspaper. 

Nothing sets a palpably confrontational tone …

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Letter: Plenty of problems with recent letter

Posted

To the editor:

I would like to thank Ms. Haynes for the great didactic example of how not to conduct a discussion on pages of a newspaper. 

Nothing sets a palpably confrontational tone better than starting your letter with a curt and aggressive command to your opponent to back off. If it is a religious person you disagree with, I believe it is intellectually dishonest to try invalidating their integrity and questioning their motivation by associating them with the criminals among Catholic clergy. 

Bringing up separation of Church and State is not an argument either, it is a way to tell anyone who speaks on an issue from a religious prospective that we don't have to listen to them, while in the meantime the underlying question remains unanswered. 

Shouting at someone with caps and double exclamation points does communicate how strongly you feel about the issue as well as about those on the other side of the argument, but that vitriol, of course, makes your position weaker and less credible. It also leaves your opponents with a real taste of your anger and your resentment towards them — I hope that was not Ms. Haynes's intention. 

Finishing a letter by telling your counterpart, who voiced his opinion on an issue, that it is none of their business, creates a very clear perception that the goal is simply to silence them. In summary, aiming to destroy your opponents rather than their arguments is not just uncivilized, it is also counterproductive.

Unfortunately, the only substantive part in Ms. Haynes's letter seems to be her brief mentioning of "a mother's rights". While the choice of words gives plenty to think about and begs clarification, the goal of my letter is not to contribute to the original debate — its subject is different altogether. Unlike Ms. Haynes, I enjoy being "preached to" from the pages of my newspaper by anyone who cares to do so openly and honestly, and thinking about what they have to say. If it happens that I'm not interested in an article or opinion piece, I simply turn the page. 

By speaking, we humans think. It is our responsibility to think, and therefore, to speak. We do not try to silence anyone, especially those who disagree with us. The price a society pays for not following this principle is tremendous — the history of the 20th century alone would be a sufficient example.

Andrei Smuk

Barrington

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