My Unpublished Thank-You Letter

It would seem that the Columbia Daily Tribune has declined to publish my thank-you letter to the public. I make the inference on the basis of the content and dates of the letters to the editor appearing the past few days, and on past assurances from Jim Robertson, the managing editor, that the Tribune does not "sit" on letters, or give preference of order, etc. So it would seem the following is simply not appropriate content:

7 April 2011

Dave Raithel, Ph.D.

402 Lema Lane

Columbia Mo 65202

Columbia Daily Tribune

Dixiecratia, MO 65205

Dear Editor:

Please allow me to thank all those people who took the time to tell me what they knew about the district, its hopes, its abilities, and its problems; and to thank all those people who took the time to share their concerns with me, and to read my reports and reflections, and to respond to them; and all those people who took the time to vote, whether for me or not – just so long as they voted. As ill-feeling as I am about politics, I am still sufficiently naïve to believe in representative democracy. I lament that we need more practice at it, not the imperfections of the theory.

It should be said that the CPS is, in sum, a good district; and though one should not make the perfect the enemy of the good, I'll not be satisfied that it is good enough until it is as good as any district can be.

Best of luck and effort to the newly configured board. I sincerely hope for its success.

Dave Raithel