My Letter to the Editor

Okay, so last week I put out a public challenge to myself to actually start taking some action about the Iraq War. I took step number one on Saturday, attending the peace rally. Today, I took step number two, and wrote a letter to the editor complaining about the poor coverage of the peace rally in Sunday's paper. I'm sending an actual piece of paper through the mail (I'm sure there's a tutorial on-line somewhere for those of you who only ever send emails) with a stamp and everything.

Here's what I wrote. I doubt they'll publish it, but someone will read it. If a hundred people sent letters like this one, they might actually pay attention.

Letters to the Editor
The Boston Globe
P.O. Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

Dear Editor,

What a disappointment that coverage of Saturday’s peace rally at the Boston Common was buried in the Sunday Globe, all the way on page B6. The rally was part of a nationwide public outcry for peace, with more than 100,000 people taking to the streets in 11 cities across the U.S., yet your paper felt that it was less important than HOV lanes, Michelle Obama balancing campaigning and family, and malpractice by one particular doctor.

Our country has lost more than 3,800 soldiers and the Iraqis have suffered tens of thousands of civilian deaths in this conflict. The cost of the war is estimated to be more than $3,000 per person in the U.S. Clearly the push for peace and an end to the war is one that has deep impact and importance. Yet, if peaceful, large-scale protests are barely covered in the newspapers, how can we expect our government to take the public repugnance for this war seriously. Many people are unaware that a significant peace movement exists in this country—not because there isn’t one, but because its actions and demands are not carried in the media.

Newspapers are struggling to maintain their readership. Perhaps if they concentrated more on providing better coverage of news that impacts us all, their numbers would increase.

Sincerely,

Patrick Gabridge

P.S. If you're interested in casualty figures, consider visiting http://icasualties.org.