Letters to the editor: Straw man, powerful words and embracing truth
Straw man fallacy used to opposite effect on same opinion page
To the editor:
I don’t mean to pick on Dargan Pete again, but his Jan. 15 column is a classic example of the “straw man” logical fallacy.
For those readers who didn’t have a secondary school English class unit on logic and logical fallacies, the straw man is a fallacy in which a person overstates or misrepresents an opponent’s position so as to more easily attack and argue against that position.
Pete Water's column:Crime always creates chaos, and chaos always tears at the social fabric
Pete claims “some” people want to eliminate the police and “others” want to eliminate prisons, crazy positions he then says are being promoted by unnamed “activists.”
I suppose in this Wild West internet/social media world it is possible to identify a crazy fringe argument about virtually anything and everything. However, I have seen no evidence that a segment of the normal people who comprise the vast majority of Americans is rising up to advocate the elimination of police and prisons. Even those who — in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder by police — argued that it might make sense to divert some law enforcement funding to other types of policing using officers trained in how to defuse certain police encounters without causing harm to the accused lawbreaker, did not advocate a solution of eliminating policing altogether.
In another example of the straw man fallacy, I enjoyed a column by USA Today’s Rex Huppke (in your same Jan. 15 edition) skewering the false claim by some Fox News acolytes and others of their ilk who crazily believe the government is coming to take away their gas stoves.
But I guess punching the nonexistent straw man at least makes for an entertaining column now and then. I just wish Dargan Pete would stick with his folksy topics and stay away from politics.
Bruce R. LarsonHagerstown
Seven lines with important messages
To the editor:
Seven powerful quotes with valuable lessons:
No one is going to come and save you because, in most cases, you are perfectly capable of saving yourself.
Every challenge, hard time and pain you endure will turn into strength, resilience and blessings.
Don’t expect people who lie to themselves to be honest with you.
You don’t owe anyone an explanation or justification.
Don’t argue with people who want to misunderstand you. Starve them with silence.
Life is too short to live for the weekends only.
You don’t need to make big announcements. Silently work on your dreams and let the results make the noise.
Mike HébertHagerstown
Children are the last hope to move America away from lies
To the editor:
“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” You can tell the truth, but you can’t make people believe it.
Earth is not the center of our solar system. Our solar system is not the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. The Milky Way Galaxy is not the center of the universe.
Many adults don’t believe these truths.
Some adults don’t believe that vaccines are usually safe and effective; that elections in the U.S. are not “rigged”; that climate change is real; that smoking can cause lung cancer; that seat belts save lives; and, many more generally accepted “truths.”
The facts don’t matter to these willfully ignorant adults, and it is a waste of time to try to educate them. The children, however, should be taught to embrace the truth and to reject the lies.
It is painfully apparent that our school systems have failed to do so.
Daniel MoellerRohrersville
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This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Straw man fallacy fails with police argument, works with gas stoves
