I have been at the helm of this column for a good stretch of time now, delving deeper into the news and current events, every other week, for the better part of a semester. This issue marks the end of the first chapter of my tenure at the State Press. I will, along with most of you readers, be taking a break this summer to work and recuperate for the fall semester. I hope to be back in August, with more pithy and controversial commentary dedicated to enlightening and enlivening my readership.
Nothing pleases me more than being able to share my thoughts with you and, in return, to hear your response to my observations. It is to those varied and intelligent replies that I am dedicating this article. Your words have reinforced my belief in the power and subsequent value of discourse.
Your words have also reinforced my ego, at times. Praise has been sparse though, and my inbox is usually filled with pseudo-hate mail, which means I am doing part of my job.
I have been called ignorant and incompetent in the same breath, so I know there are plenty among you who will be glad to see my face leave the Opinion pages for the next few months. I hope you will return with me in the fall though and continue to give me hell when my structure is flawed and my thesis is screwy.
I am turning over the rest of my space, well most of it anyway, to those readers who have been so kind as to write. I am doing this, not to save myself the task of writing another column, but to prove that these letters and the emotions behind them are the real goals of my biweekly wisdom.
I have taken these excerpts from published letters to the editor, feel free to refer back to the issue indicated by the date in parentheses. This is not meant to be a response to any particular letter; so everyone has been left anonymous. What this is meant to be is proof that discourse is the only way to exact the whole truth, because when I write, I can only report so much of the story.
"I am making a pure assumption here ... but you don't even have a cunt. Well, let me tell you what it's like." (2/21/02)
A valid example of an instance when my expertise falls exceptionally short. Gladly, you fill in those gaps I leave empty.
Those details of the topic that I do report are never meant to be demands, although they sometimes come off that way.
"Manheim isn't telling everyone to get "fat" but to at least ... not allow people like Manley to dictate how they should look." (4/4/02)
When I do dictate, I apologize for that. Maybe I should be woeful at the same time.
"It's sad to see someone speak so assuredly when they have no idea the lives these women (and men!) live ... Manley should stick with what he knows." (4/4/02)
All I know is how to spark discussion. And how to scare people.
"Upon reading James Manley's opinion, I was angered and then concerned." (4/4/02)
Well, you should be. But not because I am misinformed.
"Is it easy to badmouth a group you obviously know nothing about? Perhaps you should take the challenge and research what you are reporting." (1/25/02)
But as another reader noted,
"The facts don't show it all." (4/4/02)
So, if the facts do not reveal the answers and I should not write about what I do not already know, perhaps I should not write at all. But then I would never have the chance to stir the sentiments of you folks. And that would be a terrible waste, of both your talent and mine.
In the end, we are left with only one certainty: Open discussion breeds the healthiest ideas.
I hope to keep up my end of the discussion by working as a columnist in the fall, and I hope to get more letters that start like this,
"I read your article today in the State Press ..."
Because a little reading and a little reflection are all we can hope for.
James Manley is a journalism sophomore. Reach him at james.manley@asu.edu.
