Letter: Forum open to anyone with an ax to grind

It is amazing what a convenient forum the “Letter to the Editor” column is in our nation’s newspapers. People with an ax to grind, or just wanting to write senseless dribble about subjects they know nothing about have the opportunity to make themselves look pretty dumb. I am certain that the editor of this newspaper will agree that if he were to publish nonsense that he had not performed any research on, he would be in a lot of hot water with the paper’s owner and readers. Yet, just about anyone can put information in “print” through the letter column, where unfortunately, a lot of uneducated folks believe that if it is in print in a newspaper, it surely must be true. Persons writing useless dribble and ridiculous innuendos to the editor should take into consideration the impact their unfounded accusations can have.
The one fact that I can speak of here is that hundreds of thousands of Americans and our allies have given their lives to protect the right of Americans to have the freedom of speech. Yes, this even means they have the freedom to write total dribble about subjects they know nothing about. I would suggest that this precious freedom and right be better utilized.
I would also suggest that if someone can only write about how bad things are here in Rio Blanco County, maybe they should find somewhere nicer to live. The sooner that search is started, the better. Good luck finding that place.
Bernie Gantt
CWO3 USN (ret.)
Meeker