Tired of Opinon Page Inciters

To the Editor:

In my opinion the Opinion section of The Fayette County Record has devolved into a platform for a few narrow-minded individuals to purport extreme, unfounded politically- or racially-based diatribes. The intent of these opinion pieces seem to be to inflame and incite, rather than inform and encourage.

I do not believe that is or should be the purpose of any reputable newspaper. So for years now, I have gotten into the habit of bypassing and not responding to the Opinion section of the newspaper.

As I began to do the same with the June 26th edition, Babette Hale’s “It’s A Free Country” opinion piece caught my eye. I actually read it and found it to be a logical, reasoned, and thoughtprovoking presentation that informs and (hopefully) encourages us to do better.

Taking a chance, I turned the page, scanned the headlines, and then read a piece entitled “The Power of a Cheerful Person” by Holly Rangel. Then there was “Let’s Be Careful How We Describe People” by David McCall. Wow!

These authors relied on personal experiences to inform and encourage us. Unlike some other opinion authors, they did not attempt to inflame or incite by referencing sources of a dubious nature that ‘proves’ something which is untrue.

But ‘it’s a free country’ and there is, unfortunately, a market for ‘inflamers and inciters.’ The question is, how long will we let them use our platform for such hate-filled messages?

Cecil Webster

Carmine