This is a letter to the editor I published at the Daily Advance. Posted here for posterity, since they have no online archive:
A recent exchange of political letters in your paper truly disheartens me. Richard T. Cartwright’s “Bush imperils right to criticize” and E.C. Toppin’s “Writer is wrong about Bush, war” both rely on over-the-top fear mongering and misrepresentations to make their cases. The Patriot Act, however flawed, does nothing to restrict the freedom of speech as Cartwright alleges and it is not the intention of the American Civil Liberties Union to destroy America’s founding principles as Toppin charges.
These two letters, coming from the opposing sides of America’s political dichotomy, are a microcosm of the real threat to our great nation: political polarization. Neither author has bothered to understand the details of what has outraged them and that is why they have failed to construct sound and convincing arguments. Instead they have both spilled out rants that may make themselves feel good, but only serve to insult more informed readers.
Toppin does make an interesting point, that by publishing Cartwright’s assertions, “it appears you agree with his opinion.” Since you have also published Toppin’s opinion, it must therefore follow that you agree with his, contradictory, opinion as well. I must therefore assume The Daily Advance either suffers from a split-personality disorder or you might be providing a community service by publishing all opinions, no matter how inflammatory their rhetoric in the interest of providing a public forum for democracy to thrive, as is your responsibility to do so.
It is the responsibility of the authors to convey their arguments in a respectful manner and remember that the entire purpose of debate is to convince the opposition, not to drive a deeper wedge between Americans.
RYAN SOMMA
Elizabeth City