~a column by Colleen O’Brien
To the gentleman who sent a letter to the editor about a column I wrote . . .
Dear Reader, I was thrilled! to get it.
Columnists around the world seldom get Letters to the Editor. It’s because columnists keep writing every day, twice a week, once a week — so the readers know there will be more, and one of these days the reader is going to write.
For decades, I have been reading columnists (my favorite kind of reading next to diaries), some because I loved them, some because I disagreed with every sentence they wrote. The number of times I wrote a Let to the Ed about a columnist — pro or con — I can count on my two hands.
My two favorites had me laughing out loud with appreciation. One fella had a fit because I was picking on the president of the moment (2001). I’ve always considered picking on politicians the obligation of a political columnist — telling the truth as we see it; or the reporter telling the truth of the scene or the persons reported on. Another Let to the Ed I received was a tirade about my neglecting to mention Jesus in a column about famous philosophers. And another good one that I did not see in print but was related to me from my editor: “When are you going to get rid of that O’Brien woman?” Meaning that the guy didn’t like my columns, but he obviously read them.
The point is that whether the letters I’ve received that were printed in the newspaper were in praise or dismissive — “obviously has no brain”; or instructional — “I would advise you to read …” — I have always felt gratitude for the time and effort in someone writing the pro or con about me from their point of view. It’s what America is about, this freedom to write what we need to. That someone reads me is the point, not their liking our hating it.
So, thanks, Dear Reader Denny Lautner, for the published observations re: the “lady” who wrote a column.
Sincerely, Colleen O’Brien
