For years I have turned to the Parker Chronicle for differing voices and opinions, helping to broaden my perspective and deepen my understandings. Unfortunately, though, over the last few years, some writing professionals routinely use letters to the editor for commentaries meant only to rile people up about whatever the flavor of the day happens to be at the time.
Some readers want thoughts and substance meant to challenge their thinking, open minds, and elicit conversation, not diatribes or childish jabs of tangential inaccurate grammar usage by the other side as demonstrated on recent publication, or complaints that our DCSD BoE decision to not allow “coarse and obviously offensive utterances and gestures” at board meetings goes against our guaranteed freedom of speech?
If a teacher used offensive or coarse language or gestures in a classroom or allowed the majority of students to overwhelm the voices and opinions of the quieter minority, by laughing, making comments or sounds, or turning their backs on them, would that really be OK?
It’s bad enough that many thrive on an “us versus them” mentality; now, fueled by such professional commentaries from outside of our school walls, not from professional teachers, administrators, and support staff who really are trying to do what is best for all students, our school district parent community is more polarized and politicized than ever before.
I do not know what the solution is for such polarization, but such routine commentaries help me understand what the solution is not.
Eric Waggoner
Parker