ash responds approvingly
Americans must force themselves to think
Lest others fail to send along kudos, from us you get only our deep appreciation for your excellent op-ed piece on Sunday wherein you asked your readers to "join in debate" about issues. Well done!
Your assertions that you provide an open forum for opinions of all persuasions is well-founded. We have lived in many cities in this nation, and are continually and pleasantly amazed that your op-ed pages, singular among many, are so diverse in the range of opinions expressed by your readers and writers. The fact that your "Letters to the Editor" spills over to a second page is testimony to your editorial dedication to free and open discussion.
Thoughtful analysis of issues, through whatever partisan looking glass one may peer, is the only means whereby we can effectively govern - and govern we must, for this nation belongs not just to governmental bureaucracies, but to all of us.
Adolf Hitler once observed, "What luck for the rulers that men do not think."
Americans must force themselves to think - about issues, about alternatives, about solutions and about the value of whatever governmental enterprise we may be about. The debate forum provided by your op-ed page is not a solution to any of these matters, but it is a catalyst for all of our societal members to intelligently participate in this great experiment called "democracy."
You can count on us as continuing subscribers and - to the dismay of some, perhaps - continuing participants in the invaluable debate forum of your op-ed pages.
Doug and Dee Hagan, Springfield
No student of history, I literally gasped at one sentence in Doug and Dee Hagan’s latest letter. “How lucky for the rulers that men do not think.” (Adolph Hitler)
How stunning. How apt. And how applicable to numerous rulers – and leaders – then and now. In some cases, even the “leader” himself is ignorant, abdicating to the administration actually running the show. In a recent account of manipulating the masses, a magazine article details how constituents in Kansas, having lost jobs and homes, were diverted into protesting abortion clinics, thereby channeling their ire elsewhere. It perfectly illustrates how the powerful remain powerful, by preempting the natives from becoming restless.
As for the Hagans, I suggest one of the newspaper’s feature writers profile them in the Sunday a.m. section. I’m sure their lives would prove fascinating and enlightening to readers who do think for themselves and aren’t threatened by an uncensored exchange of political and social philosophies. However, I would be remiss not to point out to them that contrary to their assertion that the populace must contemplate their role in government, Hitler may have added, “How lucky for the rulers that men cannot be forced to think.”
One final thought: to anyone who hasn’t noticed, liberals – proudly – have reclaimed the label “liberal.” It is no longer a pejorative.