Remember, civility on the blog posts is best

“(It is) better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

— Abraham Lincoln

Truer words were never spoken.

I was reminded of Lincoln’s greatness recently as I finally got around to renting the movie about the namesake for our county.

Lincoln has always been considered among our elite presidents, and certainly, his greatness as an elite president suffered no malice by the movie. Lincoln clearly has his place with Thomas Jefferson, who is widely considered the author of our Constitution, as our premier presidents.

His quote about considering silence as an option is advice I see daily on a refrigerator magnet when I reach for milk for my raisin bran.

Certainly, sage advice.

That advice also is true when it comes to writing, whether it be in this publication or in correspondence with friends, family and others who are less known.

This week on this page, just to the right of this space, we are pulling a few of the more memorable posts to The Western News’ website.

The topics are as varied as the folks who try to match wits with others on every topic under the sun.

It’s all in fun, or at least it’s supposed to be — a mostly friendly exchange of ideas and comments.

Occasionally, however, things get out of hand. Folks seem to forget that while they may feel a bit of anonymity by the mask of a screen name that is something other than their own, sooner or later folks can calculate identities.

And, that’s part of the fun, so I’m told.

We only hope that people who post be civil enough to respect others.

If things get out of hand, yes, we can turn off the posting. However, we’d really rather not resort to that. To us, this is freedom of speech to the infinite power.

Still, when the attacks get too personal, it can get ugly. And, please know, as many a crazed college kid on spring break in Daytona can attest from a decade ago, posts to the Internet become permanent. And, in most cases, that can be regrettable.

So, in the infinite wisdom of our 16th president, sometimes it’s better to hold the tongue — or the writing — than to speak or to post to offend. Hey, it’s OK to disagree, but let’s not get personal.

Besides, being civil is not just a good idea, it’s among the guidelines for our website.

Thanks, and enjoy the online conversations.

*   *   *

The Nordicfest Committee is hard at work and making plans for the annual end-of-summer event.

First up is the annual Coronation Dinner set for 6 p.m. Saturday, April 13, at the Ponderosa Room. 

All the event dignitaries will be determined that night, so make plans to attend.

It’ll be a great Scandinavian event!

 (Alan Lewis Gerstenecker is editor of The Western News. His column appears weekly.)