My How Good This Advice Is

scream.jpgOne of my favorite columnists has done it again. Leonard Pitts Jr. received a letter from a young writer from a school newspaper. It seems the young man wrote a piece that attracted some negative attention. David seeks advice from Leonard and we find the text of the reply in a recent column. One particular paragraph stood out as sound advice and even more apt description as to the way some engage issues, or don’t.

If you approach writing your column as I do mine, you see it as an attempt, not to hammer the other side down, but to persuade persuadable minds. Unfortunately, persuadable minds are an endangered species these days. You and I have the misfortune to live in a time and media culture when people think that the loudness of the argument matters more than the coherence of it, when threats and intimidation substitute for logic and reason, a time of made-up ”facts” and ideological ”truth,” a time when critical thinking is a lost art and ignorance is ascendant.

Those who spend even a little time filtering through conflicting parties would do well to note this advice in their own settings.

About the Author
Husband to Patty. Daddy to Kimberly and Tommie. Grandpa Doc to Cohen, Max, Fox, and Marlee. Pastor to Snow Hill Baptist Church. Graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Reading. Photography. Golf. Colorado. Jeeping. Friend. The views and opinions expressed here are my own and should not be construed as representing the corporate views of the church I pastor.

2 comments on “My How Good This Advice Is

  1. This is one of THE most excellent things I’ve read in a while. Thanks for sharing this Todd

  2. Todd Littleton says:

    David, I have long admire Pitts. Would be happy if our state paper would carry him more often.

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