This letter is to illustrate how we all can promote civil discourse and learn from others with a different point of view. The letter refers to comments made to the article, “Candidate for Maine governor paid Clean Elections money to future employer,” published on Oct 20.
Some of these replies are why this newspaper changed their commenting rules. The paper says one of its goals is to encourage thoughtful comments that help create a productive conversation. Jumping to conclusions and blaming an entire group for the ills our society faces are neither thoughtful nor productive.
I give comments by Mdenis46 and Jaygee66 a green light because they point out the logical fallacy of justifying one group’s action because the opposing group does the same thing. This advice helps make the conversation productive.
Andrew Weymouth’s comments get a yellow light because although he correctly states there is no proof Mason spent taxpayer money for personal gain, he assigns nefarious intent to progressives for even asking the question.
Dr Knoz comments earned a red light because he jumps to the conclusion, without evidence, that Mason committed a crime and blames the entire Republican Party for fiscal mismanagement. Neither of these comments are thoughtful nor encourage civil discourse. On the contrary, they are politically partisan comments that lead to division.
While I think not allowing comments on most articles is too restrictive, I commend the paper for encouraging civil discourse. Since being a subscriber is required to comment, I encourage the paper to apply its letters-to-the-editor policy of requiring the author to use their real name and list the town they live in.
Doing so will encourage commentators to think carefully about what they are saying and how they say it. To paraphrase Norman Rockwell: Every comment is a self-portrait of the one who wrote it.
Tom Waddell
Litchfield
(Waddell writes a monthly column that appears in the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.)
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