I think part of the problem is that small towns have fewer smart people in absolute numbers, and those few people subscribe to the nearest major metropolitan paper. That leaves the dunderheads to read the local paper and write about their pet peaves -- Mr. Moulder's being socialism. I confess, I haven't read a pointless rant against socialism in years, so Mr. Moulder's letter was refreshing, in a kitschy sort of way.
Also remember that political letter writers are much like C-Span callers: partially knowledgable but nevertheless verbose. Think about what Mr. Moulder's letter must have read like before it was edited by the letters-to-the-editor editors.
Moulder is a very regular writer. Your search may even have missed some as he is often the 'Letter of the Day'.
I have to agree with you though, as much as I cringe at many of the letters, it's the first page I turn to. On the other hand, I've been known to pen a few myself. Thankfully, I haven't made your list. (yet!)
My local paper has a rule that you may only be published once every 2 months. I like it that way.
10:22 AM
It won't stop! Another astounding letter to the Editor of the Windsor Star:
Gardener shares tomato bounty
Sometime during the past two weeks, there was a letter to the editor, complaining that there is never anything about local gardens in the section on gardening.
I have one tomato plant I planted in my compost container. The plant was purchased May 28 in an eight-inch-wide-by-six-inch-deep pot and stood about 18 inches high, including the pot.
On Aug. 10, the plant was 52 inches wide, 60 inches deep (front to back), and 43 inches tall from the dirt in the compost container to the plant top. It also has about 36 tomatoes on it.
JEAN CHUBY Windsor Published: Thursday, August 17, 2006 I am well aware that even though I profess that these letters to the editor drive me crazy, it is obvious that it is my favourite section of the paper. I can't stop reading these letters. (I can't stop writing about these letters.)
The question is, do I really want the inanity, the public shaming, the wacked-out ranting to stop and be replaced with well-reasoned, factual letters that speak to pertinent issues at hand? Is there a touch of sick pleasure mixed in my disgust? Do I enjoy these letters because they make me feel superior?
Speaking of which, another letter from today: Socialist path only leads to nowhere
Socialism is a stagnant, point-in-time belief that refuses to evolve; more like a religion than a science. It remains a moribund outdated doctrine seen through yesterday's prism at odds with today's global, high-tech, modern economies.
Socialists seem often to judge capitalism by comparisons to a Dickens' 19th century (novel) or Tommy Douglas's experiences in the early 20th century.
Only economies that embrace trade, choice, competition, innovation and real democracy have a hope of reaching their true potential.
Competition, though rewarding, is tough but the alternatives are far worse.
Why does Canada follow the wealth-sapping, tax-and-spend, ambition-killing, nanny-state formula that breeds bloated, faceless bureaucracies.
We are not a nation peopled by lesser types, so why then do we remain governed by the inept and follow the socialist path to nowhere?
Time has proven Marx, Lenin, Mao, Castro, Douglas, Trudeau and our own Carl Morgan wrong, and Adam Smith spot on. Government is the problem not the solution.
MICKEY MOULDER Tecumseh Thursday, August 17, 2006 Using an online database from my library, I found out that this is Moulder's fourth Letter to the Editor of the Windsor Star this year. Last year they printed nine of his letters and this is the third time in three years in which Mr. Moulder has written to warn us about the evils of Socialism.
What's the point of letters like these?
Should the defenders of Socialism acknowledge this thrown gauntlet and craft a response? Well, it is unlikely that someone will be able to change Mr. Molder's mind in less than 150 words. But one may feel obligued to make a public response for there may just be young influential minds out there that may otherwise become corrupted. Or one should take the high road and ignore the challenge on the assuption that this letter is just bait for a larger flame-war.
The parallels between the Letters to the Editor section and blogging are becoming disturbingly more apparent to me.
3 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formI think part of the problem is that small towns have fewer smart people in absolute numbers, and those few people subscribe to the nearest major metropolitan paper. That leaves the dunderheads to read the local paper and write about their pet peaves -- Mr. Moulder's being socialism. I confess, I haven't read a pointless rant against socialism in years, so Mr. Moulder's letter was refreshing, in a kitschy sort of way.
Also remember that political letter writers are much like C-Span callers: partially knowledgable but nevertheless verbose. Think about what Mr. Moulder's letter must have read like before it was edited by the letters-to-the-editor editors.
Jay.
9:39 PM
Moulder is a very regular writer. Your search may even have missed some as he is often the 'Letter of the Day'.
I have to agree with you though, as much as I cringe at many of the letters, it's the first page I turn to. On the other hand, I've been known to pen a few myself. Thankfully, I haven't made your list. (yet!)
8:39 AM
My local paper has a rule that you may only be published once every 2 months. I like it that way.
10:22 AM