Editorial: Love the letters, but keep it civil

With a recall election scheduled in August, and a possibility of a new hospital district on the ballot in November, there are going to be plenty of letters to the editor in the in the upcoming editions of the Whitehall Ledger.

We would like to thank everyone who submits letters and puts their thoughts out for others to see. It’s also very important that these letters stay civil or they will never see the pages of the paper. It’s completely fine to feel passionate about something, but profanity or name-calling is not necessary. If someone would like to send a letter, please also include your name and the town you live in. We will not run letters that do not include this information. An unsigned letter is kind of like sending us a blank piece of paper.

Democracy is an amazing thing and we are all lucky to live in the United States of America. Everybody has the right to freedom of speech, but it’s great when it’s done in a civilized manner, so please keep the letters clean.

There are some issues people will never see eye to eye on, and that’s fine. Just because they don’t agree, doesn’t mean there has to be hate or discontent.

We do not write the letters, and just because they are in the paper doesn’t mean we agree or disagree with them. But, we agree with their right to say it and will publish it. We hope the next few months can be an exercise in what’s great about the First Amendment, not a grotesque battle that further tears this community apart. There has been enough of that and people are getting fed up with such a great place turning so negative.