Differing viewpoints appreciated

To the editor:

It seems you must receive lots of hate mail, judging from the fiery barbs recently hurled at Alan Journet.

What is it with these people that they sound so hateful? So what if Journet is a liberal? Have some of our more conservative friends forgotten that we live in America, not Nazi Germany? Have they misplaced our cherished belief in a tradition that values people with dissenting views? Do some really believe that a guy living in a double-wide along Route 1 is more politically important than someone in a condo off Main Street? Come on.

We enjoy reading all kinds of views in the letters column. Several people are regular contributors, not just Journet. They certainly are not crammed down our throats by any means. If readers don't like Journet's letters, let them do as we do with the jingoistic ones: consider the sources and skip over them.

We appreciate seeing that Journet still fights the good fight despite harsh personal criticism.

LOIS LEE and JOHN RAMSEY, Commerce, Mo.