Introduction
No doubt in any flourishing democracy, we should ensure in public debate that we support those principles, which maintain public order and hold people in power to account. An active community of letter writers advocating to the editors of prestigious publications is surely an example of good citizenship. Opinions can only be evaluated when readers of newspapers are given a forum to judge us on the veracity and aptitude of our thoughts when published.
We live in an age of alternative communications, where our ideas are send around the world in an instant. However, there is a risk that our evidence is sometimes inexpert or our approach careless, resulting in us reinforcing ideas that are erroneous, misleading, out of context or speculative, equating to fake news.
While being opinionated is commendable and a worthy attribute in robust debate, all free speech clearly has a downside if it is damaging to the innocent and leads people astray. Being filtered by the objective, up-to-date editors in national newspapers is a process that offers the best circumstances for readers and writers.
It is certainly an acclamation that we have surpassed a standard of literacy, original storytelling and being relevant when we are published in the revered columns of our “Letters to the Editor” pages. This book is a collection of Alan Sexton’s publications in the Australian Press (Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph, The Australian and Cairns Times) since 2017, giving a unique insight into challenging social issues with a Parramatta perspective.