It's OK to disagree but be nice
Whatever happened to the Golden Rule? What's happened to common civility and good manners?
As children, we're taught to say "please" and "thank you" and respect our elders. As we get older, our lives get busy and we forget these simple manners and rules.
Too many times, we find ourselves saying "Hi, how are you?" to someone on the street or in a local store and getting a blank stare in return. Worse yet, is the "cold shoulder" from someone we've known for years.
We realize a newspaper job isn't the most popular in town. We know our opinions do not please everyone. What we don't understand is why people — good, Christian-minded people — insist on repeatedly snubbing us for something in (or not in) the newspaper. We're only doing our jobs.
We wonder — do you snub the workers at the convenience store when gas prices increase? Do you get mad at the grocer when the price of hamburger goes up? They're only doing their jobs.
We don't agree with everyone we know, but that doesn't mean we quit speaking because their opinion differs from ours. Wouldn't it be a dull world if everyone thought the same way?
And wouldn't Marion be a much more pleasant place to live if we all could just agree to disagree, have some discussion about issues, then continue to meet and greet each other in a friendly, civil manner?
— DONNA BERNHARDT
