I recently read a letter from Robert Handfield (Penticton Western News, Nov. 18, Environmental issues don’t have political boundaries).
Here is a letter that appears to have been researched. What a nice departure from the norm. If everyone who submitted letters and opinions displayed this kind of information the back-and-forth discussions between opponents wouldn’t take half the space they do now.
It’s all fine to have our own opinions, and many good men died to ensure we can voice those opinions. The problem is people state opinion as fact. I’ve heard elsewhere that “you are welcome to your own opinions, but not your own facts.” Hear, hear. If the good folks with submissions to this paper follow this basic rule, we’ll have mature discussion through your publication. This is what separates us from faith-based discussions, as in the ones that do not benefit from reproduce-ability and peer review.
So combine the above with a little civility, and the letters to the editor will evolve from a venue for whiners to a place where concrete discussion can take place. Time to up your game a bit, folks.
Dave Drought, Oliver