Letter: Don’t shut down views you don’t like

I am a white American. I say that to distinguish myself from some who would deny the rest of us the views of columnist Leonard Pitts Jr.

Because I have never walked in his shoes, nor the shoes of those who went before him, I like to hear his views on the current state of the republic.

Reading some readers’ objections to Pitts reminds me of the words of a Jewish attorney who defended the Skokie, Ill., Nazis when some would have shut down their views. He said that he did not support their views, but he would defend their right to voice them. I believe that says a lot about the American character of the man who had lost friends and family in the Nazi rise to power.

So, to those who would shut Pitts down, I say we are a richer society because we are able to read, and even possibly understand, what he is trying to say and why he is saying it. If you don’t like his writings, the solution is simple ... don’t read them.

This story was originally published December 2, 2016 at 12:36 PM with the headline "Letter: Don’t shut down views you don’t like."