Another LTE attempt

[petardier]

In case you hadn't noticed, Jeff Jacoby's columns irk me. I sent in this letter to the editor. It hasn't been published yet, though I suppose there's still a chance.

Feel free to make comments about how I might improve it or future efforts.


Jeff Jacoby wrings his hands over what he claims are dishonest arguments by the political left while minions of the Bush administration are busy trying to brand anyone who disagrees with them as traitors. Since he's so sensitive to dishonest arguments, perhaps he'll take on that situation next? The use of dishonest arguments by the party in power should certainly be of concern to all who support democracy in America, but the blinkered Mr. Jacoby can only see the supposed misdeeds of those he opposes.

Since Jacoby has, as usual, missed the point of the argument, I want to point out that nobody is suggesting that war be left only to the generals, and nobody is suggesting that only those with a military background can have a valid opinion about war. What we are suggesting is that those who have served their country in time of war have insights that we would be wise to heed.

The opinion of an experienced mechanic is more valuable than that of a columnist if you're having engine problems. Readers less obtuse than Mr. Jacoby will no doubt see how this idea might apply to our current circumstances.

Comments

That's my problem as well. I over-write LTE's.

[(Anonymous)]

Good to see you've kept this column going, hoisting one. I've tried the LTE route a few times as well. I have had one or two published in local fish wrappers, but that's as far as I've gotten. Getting published in what amounts to neighborhood weekly rags isn't exactly a high accomplishment. My problem is I tend to write essays where sound bytes are sought. Like you, I was taught to pick a solid position worth standing behind and make at least three solid cases for that position followed by a closing summary clearly stating what a moron a person who hadn't been convinced by me obvious eloquence would have to be. If I'm going to all the trouble to use a real word processor not "Joe's Own Editor" and check it for things like spelling, typos, and grammar, then by FSM it's going to be a missive suitable for framing. Unfortunately, that seems to preclude it being suitable for print.

Re: That's my problem as well. I over-write LTE's.

[petardier.livejournal.com]

The Globe suggests a limit of 200 words. Letters they print appear to exceed that with some frequency. That's good because it's hard to do a proper excoriation or phillippic in just 200 words.