Correspondence

To the Editor:

I was concerned after reading “What Happened in Minnesota ?” by Sara Evans and Lisa Norling (OAH Newsletter November 2004).

I am troubled when writers attempt to demonize opponents by using derogatory labels and loaded terms. Evans and Norling refer to “an attempted hijacking” by “radically right-wing” Christian “activists” who “pitted myth and icon against history” and “grudgingly corrected” omissions. At the same time they refer to their supporters as a “remarkable coalition,” of “energetic and concerned opponents” that was “grassroots and vibrantly democratic.”
Using such vocabulary discourages civil discourse and weakens the authors’ own credibility. Besides, OAH Newsletter readers should be capable of drawing their own conclusions about the controversy in Minnesota .

Much more troubling is the appearance of unfairness by OAH Newsletter. I looked at the end of the article for a response from Commissioner Cheri Yecke or anyone else representing the “alliance of radically right-wing” activists. Surely even “evangelical Christian activists” deserve the opportunity to respond. I found no response.

If OAH contacted them and they declined to reply, then OAH should have stated that at the end of the article. If this was the case, it is an unfortunate omission and I hope that OAH Newsletter will correct it. If OAH Newsletter published such a blatantly biased article and did not give the other side an opportunity to respond, that is unpardonable. Such unfairness would contravene the OAH Mission Statement and the most basic standards of journalistic integrity.

Journalists and historians have an ethical responsibility to present information in a balanced, unbiased manner. OAH Newsletter has failed to meet this standard.