On abortion policy in the United States
Letter to the editor, submitted to info@northernexpress.com and letters@record-eagle.com Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022.
Published Aug. 12 and 14, respectively.
Public discourse around abortion policy ignores the elephant in the room. To wax righteously about this inalienable right versus that moral principle is to deliberately avoid material reality. A U.S. policy regime without federal abortion protections is one in which some poor people are losing access to abortion, while no rich people are.
How to write a letter to the editor. Keep it brief and coherent – editors like that from non-journalists. Let's break down my 52-word submission:
ReplyDelete1) "...elephant in the room" - start with a total cliché. Readers (editors and general public) will groan and roll their eyes but on a deeper level they respond. Elephants are exotic to most English native speakers' lands but known to all thru such idioms.
2) "To wax righteously ..." now take them for a turn. Beginning with a cliché is like challenging the reader to even more closely scrutinize the next sentence. How will you fare? How did I, for that matter?
3) "... some people are losing access to abortion, while no rich people are." I.e., the QED. Leave them with something that no one can deny, and that will provoke thoughts and debate outside the very narrow framework of debate that is typically built up for most cultural, hot-button issues.