Letters to the Editor (mine)

I made sure both letters I wrote were brief (under 150 words), as that seemed an important factor to getting them published.

The first letter I wrote was to the Greenfield Recorder. I picked it because I live in Greenfield, and it is more likely to run the letter because it is a small paper. I picked the topic of snow removal because it is much on everyone's mind and therefore has relevance for the whole community. Also because today's paper had a front page article about Greenfield going over its snow budget. I decided on a call to community service because that seems like the kind of letter that is highly likely to be published. I added the sentence about most towns being in a similar situation because I remembered that the The Recorder is read by people all over Franklin County. Here is the letter:



To the Editor:

I read in today’s paper that Greenfield has exceeded its snow budget. This is not surprising given the overwhelming amount of snow this year. I imagine most towns in the area are in a similar situation. This had me thinking about what we all can do to help. So while we are all raking our roofs and sanding our sidewalks, we should also look around to make sure the nearest fire hydrant and storm drains have been cleared. These things are, I believe, the responsibility of the town. But there is only so much the town can do, and you will be glad if the fire department doesn’t have to spend precious minutes shoveling to get to the hydrant if your house is on fire.



The second letter I wrote was to the Boston Globe. This is my reach letter, figuring while they might not get as many as the New York Times, they get enough that getting published there would be a challenge. I chose to write about an article the detailed New England drivers who had fatal accidents possibly caused by Toyota's alleged sudden acceleration problem. This is timely because of the Department of Transportation's finding releasing their study which confirmed Toyota's position that there was no electronic cause for the problem.
I decided to write a letter saying that I didn't believe that sudden acceleration was the cause because I thought that might be a less common position. Here is that letter:

After reading the article Acceleration questioned in fatal crashes, it is not surprising the Department of Transportation’s study released today found no problem with Toyota’s electronic systems.

All of these cases are heartbreaking to read, but they are not very convincing.

It is particularly disturbing to read that in three of the seven cases cited in this article, the driver had been charged with driving under the influence, including one who was described as “too drunk and shouldn't get behind the wheel” by the friends he was drinking with.

The other cases seem to be looking to sudden acceleration only because there is an absence of other explanations. The son of one driver "I could not believe it was his fault."

I’m sure most families of the driver can’t believe he or she was at fault. But many good drivers make mistakes, that is why we call them accidents.