Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Culture

If You Agree With Me, Then You Are Right

[ ![][2]][2]

It has recently come to my attention that you’ve got some disagreements with me about the issues. In a series of letters to the editor, you’ve suggested that my logic is flawed, that I’m ill-informed about issues, that I misrepresent facts and that my knowledge of history is thin at best. These are all fair and reasonable points, and I appreciate your bringing them to my attention.

In response, I can only say: Where do you get off? What makes you such an expert?

Now, I’m the first to admit I’m not perfect. But I always make damn sure I get my facts straight before I go popping off my mouth or my printing press. When I say something, it’s because I mean it and I know what I’m talking about. In other words, because I’m right.

But apparently you think you know better. You’ve got some other idea about this. You saw an article in The New Yorker. Or you once read a book about this, or heard something on NPR, you can’t remember what it was called, but it said something else entirely. Or it’s just like what happened to your Aunt Suzie. So you disagree.

Smart move, Sherlock. You think I don’t know how to read? You think you’re the only one who’s got life experience? Puh-leeze! We’ve all heard what you heard. Only some of us actually bothered to think it through. And when I did, I realized that you and The New Yorker don’t know what you’re talking about.

Now, to be clear, I’m not some kind of dictator who thinks that everybody needs to agree with me. It’s a free country. Everyone’s entitled to their opinions.

The problems happen when those opinions are wrong. And when that happens, you should just hide your keyboard and leave the writing to those of us who know a little something.

So how about this for a solution? I’ll keep spreading enlightenment for those intelligent enough to listen and adopt my opinions as their own. You’re welcome to pay attention and learn a little something.

If not, that’s fine, too. In that case, you can retreat into your cave of ignorance and wallow in darkness. Or you can keep on reading magazine articles and chatting with your friends and whatnot. You’re even welcome to listen in on what I have to say.

But until you have learned enough to understand exactly how spot-on my opinions are, no one wants to hear from you.

Got it?

[]: https://forward.com/backward-purim/

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.