How To Write a Letter To The Editor

Dear TEAMS, 

As you know, I am not one to remain silent on things that are important.  As I have gotten older, I have realized that less things are important than I think, but every so often something happens that I feel another viewpoint needs to be heard.

That’s when I feel a well-phrased Letter to the Editor (or anyone who needs to hear) is called for.  But before you open up your laptop and zip one off, I wanted you to submit to you some things for your consideration:

• Pray for God’s wisdom to guide you and put words in your head while you write.  It could be God wishes to use your letter in a life-changing way that you never know, and He will be sure to tell you phrases that will ring true with the reader.
• Do not expect to hear a response, and do not write your letter to get a response.  Write the letter because you want  the person to consider a point of view they do not seem to be aware of.
• Always be courteous, respectful and kind in your letter, and be diplomatic in word choice and phraseology.  The Truth is offensive enough.  Don’t give people an excuse to refrain from dealing with the point you are trying to make because they want to attack your behavior.
• Stick to the facts and use logic.  If you hear back from someone and they take issue with your logic and facts, well, that’s a reflection on them.
• Don’t make threats.  If you really think you cancelling your subscription matters to the editor, you are WAY wrong.  In fact, they are glad to be rid of you because they are just as busy as you are and would rather spend their time elsewhere than with someone who disagrees with them. 
• In fact, a well-placed sentence stating your appreciation for other areas of the publication show that you are an interested reader.
• Show grace.  I use the Three Strikes Rule:  the first time something was in a publication that caused me to get my dander up, it was just an opportunity for me to learn to bless them and re-examine/stretch my viewpoints; the second time something shows up I heartily disagree with is just another opportunity for me to show grace; and the third time is a trend and I probably don’t want to waste my money on renewing.
• By all means, use your spell-check and grammar check.  Your Momma learnt you some good English—USE IT!  Again, it makes the reader (who will be dealing with an opposing viewpoint) stick to the viewpoint and not the intelligence of the writer.  (It is, of course, unfortunate that people are judged by their ability to construct sentences in a correct way, but trust me—it’s just the way it is!)
• If you feel you need to cancel your subscription, then do it, but without fanfare or a nastygram.  I have quietly cancelled 2 magazines and a newspaper subscription so far in my life, and two times I didn’t bother telling the people why, nor did they come asking.  Interestingly enough, the 2 magazines folded within 9 months of me cancelling my subscription, and the newspaper closed up after 18 months.  But at least I knew I had given the publications a fair opportunity to win me (and my hard-earned money) back by sticking to the purpose it was created for and the reason I subscribed to it in the first place.

 

Here is the actual letter I emailed to the editor of Prevention magazine on 3/9/12.  (This was strike one and have since scored another strike with me in a subsequent issue):

Ms. Salvatore:

Thank you for your hard work on Prevention magazine. I have enjoyed my subscription for several years and plan to continue doing so.

On page 10 of the April 2012 issue (“Ask Prevention”), Prevention’s answer to a reader wondering how much porn is too much for a teenaged boy seems underwise and overly politically correct. In the answer, you cite Todd Spaulding of Oxbow Academy who states that “viewing porn provides the same dopamine hit to the brain as drugs or gambling.” That statement implies drugs and gambling are bad physiologically, and porn is to be included with those choices.

If you were to change Spaulding’s last quoted statement to read, “If he prefers doing drugs by himself to hanging out with friends, then you may want to consult with a professional therapist,” you would have hell to pay. No one in their right mind would read that statement and think it is valid, healthy, or a part of true wellness to let a kid do drugs. Add to this that the majority of porn deals with dysfunctional relationship where there is an aggressor and a victim (the highest percentage of which are female), and there is no credence to the advice given to this poor woman. The answer to “How much porn is too much?” is the same as “How much ecstasy/pot/heroin is too much?”: One hit, be it a tab, puff, or website.

Sorry, you got this one completely wrong and we readers deserve better.

Sincerely,
[Me]

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Love,