Letter: Let us not excoriate the press

Let’s put first things first. The current president-elect has been decided — notwithstanding that he lost the popular vote.

That having been said, the recent letters now calling for healing fall on numerous deaf ears when we remember the overwhelming mandate of the current president, who was told by the opposition party that it would do nothing to help him govern and would seek to make him a one-term president.

Now, after one of the most divisive campaigns in American history, the supporters of the president-elect have determined that no dissent or objection to his “rule” will be allowed. I speak of the individuals who decry the opinions of Leonard Pitts and ignore the existence of the conservative George Will and others.

What these columnists evoke most strongly is that differences of opinion and dissent are, in fact, the lodestone of liberty and democracy. Hatred, bigotry, xenophobia and misogyny must be opposed wherever it exists. What we find in this newspaper is a well-balanced and intelligent role for the Fourth Estate. Let us not excoriate the press, but praise it. We may heal as a country, but it will be a long, hard road.

This story was originally published December 1, 2016 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Letter: Let us not excoriate the press."