To the editor:

Soon we will be ringing in the New Year of 2022. The new year is a time for reflection and resolutions on how we can improve ourselves personally and as a community.

I have been a subscriber to the Bristol Phoenix for over a decade now. I enjoy learning about upcoming community events and major news impacting our town, as well as spotlights on artists and musicians in the East Bay. Despite these positive aspects of the Bristol Phoenix, there is one point of disillusionment, the Letters to the Editor section.

We have as a country, a community and individuals been muddling through the stress and uncertainty of the last few years, living through a pandemic and political divide that in my opinion is unparalleled. I think we need some cheer.

There have been a handful of wonderful submissions about gratitude for people or events within our town. However, I am disheartened to read the majority of letters to the editor in the Bristol Phoenix week after week by individuals whose views I already know. At what point does the number of printed submissions penned by the same hand equal an opinion column?

Here is my proposal. What if we made a resolution for those who would like to join me, to write uplifting words of thanks, requests for help or donations for members of our community in need or stories of generosity and kindness experienced in our town. I know I could use a break from the vitriol that the Phoenix decides to print in the name of free speech.

Maybe, our community resolution could be to drown out the negativity with a wave of gratitude and kindness.

Karen Diehl
38 Brooks Farm Drive