For once in several years, I have actually enjoyed reading the opinion page. For way too many years the print media has been dominated by a certain way of thought and a very one-sided view of life, politics, social norms, political correctness, education, and many other things that effect our everyday lives. I believe this is a missed opportunity that leaving fifty percent of their potential customer hanging. Kudos to you for a bit of balance whether all readers agree or not. Truly honest journalists go the extra mile to earnestly listen to all sides.

I get more entertainment from the response letters than from the opinion pieces. I’ll take Mr. Shannon’s column Enumclaw Courier-Herald “The Smartest Man in the Room” as an example. Props for his provocative column that gets people, who think they are the smartest person in the room, fired up. Genius. Obviously tongue in cheek, even to an unsophisticated reader, causing many who believe they are the smartest person in the room to fall prey to a poke at their ego prodding them to take offense, therefore rushing to the mailbox to see the dastardly claims he is making this week. You tell me, who is smarter? His opinion pieces aren’t what you typically see in newspapers. For some reason editors don’t have the “hutzpah” to take the fire liberal readers inevitably rain down on them. Calling for opposing views to be censored and silenced protecting the vulnerable masses from “misinformation” that they and only they can properly interpret.

I commend the Courier-Herald for taking a stance of freedom allowing the reader to do research and make up our own minds. I also commend the Courier-Herald on the accuracy of articles despite claims facts aren’t supported. Obviously, the editor has researched the references and citations that support what is written as I have checked and researched several claims in articles that weren’t very popular but in fact were accurate and true. If more readers did real research, instead of taking an emotional offense to things they disagree with, they might actually learn something.

As for me, I won’t threaten to cancel my subscription, equivalent of taking my ball and going home to my echo chamber where people who think like me stroke my intelligence and ego, no matter what you print whether I agree with it or not. I fear the way things have progressed over the last several years too many people believe if you don’t think like me, believe like me, agree with me, then you should be silenced. Unfortunately, the major media and social media platforms, owned by billionaires, have made them believe it’s OK because at this point, they are silencing the evil opposition. At some point the pendulum will swing and they will finally understand the true evil that suppresses free speech no matter how much we may disagree.

Joseph Mills

Carbonado