I realize that reading a newspaper these days is pretty old-fashioned. But millions of us still do, and we vote. And we read the letters to the editor. Why isn’t your letter in the paper? Especially if you’re a liberal in a conservative state, your voice does matter. I know from experience.
I’ve read newspapers since I was five. I can remember spreading the Arizona Republic out on the living room floor and crouching over it, puzzling out the words (that was before all the articles had pictures). My Mom swears I was reading Fortune Magazine in my crib, so no one in my (very Republican) family was surprised at my behavior. In this manner, I found out about the Civil Rights Movement, Roe v Wade (and why it mattered to a little girl like me), and such matters of import as, was Paul McCartney dead?
I’ve lived all over the country and read the papers in every town. I loved the Washington Post back in the 90s. Alas, Bezos and his Reaganite buddy are about to destroy all that’s left of that old beauty. Currently, I read the local Reno Gazette Journal and The New York Times. And yes, I read about a dozen on-line news sources as well, since I no longer trust any one paper to hold “the truth.” God knows The Times gave up trying to report objectively back in the Bush years.
When we moved to Reno, I was appalled by the libertarian/Republican letters spewing the cuckoo, even before that was popular (about 1999). Every once in a while, I’d write a letter to the editor, countering the outright lies and misinformation. I think I was about the only liberal writing in. At the time, there were 2 liberal columnists on-staff (there’s now 1).
Since I started writing, more liberals have started contributing. I’m not sure that I started something. When we moved here, this was an emphatically red county (Washoe), now it’s purple (going for Obama twice). But I do write a letter every 2-3 months (the paper won’t let me contribute more frequently than that, and they stopped awarding me “letter of the weeks” after I won 3 in a row). Still, it was mostly intellectual entertainment for me. I never really considered that I was changing people’s minds, or helping those with similar opinions.
Until the day when I went to the dentist. He came in and fished something out of his pocket. He’d clipped my letter to the editor out of the paper that morning. He hadn’t known I was going to be there that day. Then he did something extraordinary. He leaned over and whispered into my ear: “I can’t speak about these issues in this office. There are too many Republicans here, and I treat too many well-known GOPers for me to express my opinion. So I clipped your piece out and I’m showing it to folks I think will agree.”
Honestly, that shook me to the core. My first thought was: ‘Is this Stalinist Russia?” And then I realized, no, it’s America in the third worst political time in history (the Civil War and the Fifties Red Scare being the 2 worst). Those of us not afraid to speak our mind in a public forum are of value. I’m willing to put myself out there, because writing is what I do (I’m a publishing consultant and author). If you’re best with marching, door-ringing, organizing and whatever else, I truly respect you.
I’m asking you, if you are living in a red state, or even a purple one, to write a letter to the editor about what matters to you. Here are a few tips I’ve picked up:
1. EDIT. Don’t just haul off and write your thoughts in the on-line box and hit send. Take the time to compose your work. Most papers only give you 200 words. Even experienced Twitter-folk, of which I’m one (GrumpyDem), can have trouble being concise and to-the-point without some editing. It takes me at minimum 2 hours (it can take a whole day if I’m really pissed).
2. FACT CHECK. Don’t be like the Fox-washed moran you’re up against. Check your positions, know your stats and cite them if necessary (ie: “source: ABC News”). Don’t use a left-leaning source (even if they’re correct). Find a Main-Stream-Media quote, that way you aren’t seen as biased. The editor is going to love you for it, and its hard for the fact-challenged to refute you (even though we all know they hates facts like Gollum hated Hobbitses). It also increases the confidence in those who’d like a better-reasoned argument. Remember, you’re helping a fellow progressive or independent.
3. FUNNY OR DIE. If you can bring on the funny or a hint of snark (and do it well), do that. The letter that got me my first “letter of the week” was about the poor educational opportunities in this state, and ended ‘Or shall we simply teach our children how to say, “You want fries with that?’” You don’t have to go for killer comedy, just a slight jab.
I hope you’ll join me in writing letters to the editor, not just in an election year, but all year. Your voice matters—far more than you may think!