This may be the toughest day...

This may be the toughest day in the year to write a column. What

do I say on the day after Christmas?

Many of those who bestir themselves to read this are probably

exhausted from overeating, overbuying and over-socializing; or, at

the other end of the spectrum, relieved that the special loneliness

of the holidays is almost over. Few are yet ready to go back either

to the usual business conducted on this page or the frenetic pace of

the last month.

So, at least for me, it’s time to kick back and look at bits and

pieces of college bowl games in which I have little or no interest

and try to figure out if the spate of new movies is worth sitting

through commercials to see. Or, better still, just kick back and

ruminate.

Like ruminating, for example, on the importance in this society of

expressing and weighing dissenting views. The New York Times got into

an absurd fix a few weeks ago by trying to put down internal dissent.

As with most issues of substance, it came up over a matter of very

little substance at all.

This mastodon of American journalism decided, at a time when the

world was in considerable turmoil, that the issue of whether or not

to admit women to a guys-only Atlanta golf club merited major

editorial treatment. Two Times’ columnists disagreed, said so, and

had their columns killed. The resulting criticism was deeply

embarrassing -- and should have been -- to the editors of the Times.

I bring this up as worth ruminating about here for two reasons.

First, because the continuing liveliness of the letters on the

Pilot’s Forum page feeds on dissent. And, second, because the

publisher and editors of the Pilot don’t require its columnists to

agree with their editorial positions.

Back when I was starting out in journalism in Fort Wayne, Ind., we

had two newspapers. Neither left any doubt on their editorial pages

about their political loyalties, but there was one basic difference

between them. The Democratic newspaper -- the Journal-Gazette -- ran

a broad variety of political opinion on its Op-Ed page. The

Republican News-Sentinel ran only columnists who agreed with their

conservative point-of-view. The News-Sentinel editor was a good

friend, and I stretched out many drinks, which I could ill afford

then, at a local bar debating this matter with him.

I argued that it is the basic responsibility of a newspaper to

give its readers a variety of views on public issues so they can make

rational choices. He argued that it would be stupid for him to give

space in his newspaper to opinions he regarded as wrong.

Neither of us changed those views much in the years that followed.

But I ended up in an area where the two major newspapers -- the Times

and the Register -- offered almost exactly the same contrast in

styles.

The Pilot leans in my direction because, although there is no

Op-Ed page, there is the outspoken Forum page. When I travel

cross-country by car, the first things I read in the newspapers I

pick up en route are the letters to the editor, which tell me a great

deal about the pulse of the community I’m visiting.

I can say honestly that I’ve never seen letters that measure up in

passion, clarity or outrage better than those that appear regularly

in the Pilot. If the views of the editors of this newspaper and the

views of The Bell Curve are predictable, the letters challenging both

aren’t.

Recent examples would certainly include the torrent of complaints

about the Pilot’s continuing frequent news and feature coverage of

Wendy Leece after she lost her school board seat. Or the letter

writer who accused the Bell Curve of being blinded by my “liberal

elitist and socialistic ideology, like most journalists and college

professors” because I suggested we should take a harder look at the

reasons for invading Iraq. Or the outraged protectors of the ficus

trees and the incontinent ducks. Or the letter writer who finally

came to the defense of the embattled Dave Ellis by pointing out that

he consistently knocked off Democrats, which certainly gave Ellis

license to use any tactics -- including lies and deceit -- that were

effective in eliminating these noxious critters.

I have had complaints from local citizens who wondered why their

letters weren’t run, and I have no answers except lack of space, poor

timing or personal attacks and such excessive rhetoric that it

doesn’t merit print. But the overwhelming tide of letters to the

editor of the Pilot are thoughtful, focused, clear and well written.

They may be full of baloney, but that, of course, is in the eye of

the beholder.

I have learned in the several years I’ve been doing this gig that

it is almost impossible to predict what subject matter that will draw

mail. I have dealt with what I considered provocative subjects that

landed with a dull thud, and I have drawn animated response with

seemingly pedestrian entries. The longest letter I’ve ever received

came from a column in which I defended TV viewing. And by far my

biggest response followed a request for suggestions for a new name

for the column.

A number of letters come directly to me rather than through the

Pilot, and I do not do well about answering them. My intentions are

fine, but my performance is lousy. I have a considerable pile of

letters, dating back further than I care to look, that I fully expect

to answer and quite probably won’t -- for which I apologize profusely

and have no reasonable excuse beyond lethargy to offer.

It has occurred to me as I wrap this up that there is another

group of Dec. 26ers that I didn’t mention -- those people who will be

returning gifts or poised in the trenches for the post-Christmas

sales.

They probably won’t have time to read this, anyway. But if they

do, I urge them to stay home and ruminate.

You might start with whatever letters to the editor are offered

today. If they don’t light a fire, try tomorrow or the next day. And

then, maybe raise a toast on New Year’s Eve to the importance of

honest dissent -- in your community, your country and the world.

* JOSEPH N. BELL is a resident of Santa Ana Heights. His column

appears Thursdays.