To the editor:

To become informed voters is not easy.

Amid political propaganda and shallow news reporting, the challenge is to separate fact from fiction, to embrace discernment rather than popular dogma.
Because the stakes are terribly high, we need to be aware, informed and engaged in public issues. Unfortunately, public discourse is too often a shouting, slurring, illogical, venomous tirade.

So, how can we prepare to vote responsibly; how can we ferret out truth?

Drawing upon our own experience, reasoning, values and conscience, many of us lack background in history, economics and other social sciences.

Working families hardly have time to consult scholars, research issues or question experienced legislators whose records speak louder than their words.
I suggest we eschew broadcast media controlled by large corporations, print media bereft of in-depth reporting, “talking heads” or right or left extremes, and narrowly focused simplistic slogans.

Among more reliable sources are PBS NewsHour (educational television), BBC World News America (British broadcasting), The Christian Science Monitor Weekly (a non-partisan newspaper, not a religious journal), the League of Women Voters, Common Cause and C-Span.
Although a limited approach, this is manageable amid pressures of daily responsibilities.

It is adequate to preserve the integrity of our search for truth. We can influence our country’s direction and standing among nations in a precarious world.
The stakes are terribly high.

– Maryneal Jones,  Columbus