Progressive letters

Two recent letters to the editor bemoaned the increase in progressive letters appearing lately, wondering why there are not more from conservatives.

Perhaps more letters from progressives are appearing because more letters from progressives are being submitted. And perhaps that is because public opinion in Arkansas is changing.

Culture changes in cycles. When it swings extremely left or right, it eventually swings back, and then repeats the cycle again. The swing in recent years has been toward the left, and we are seeing a hard-right turn again. Same-sex marriage, transgender transitions, Black Lives Matter, medical marijuana, #MeToo, etc., have been too much too fast for many people. Now increased immigration has prompted a right-wing resurgence of white supremacy. It was predictable, and it won’t last; the cycle will swing again.

We will always have a hard core at both extremes, but it looks to me like each turn of the cycle is moving the middle slightly to the left, both nationally and in Arkansas. Harsh, vindictive attitudes are becoming more humane—on criminal justice, the death penalty, and drug usage, among others. (The fact that the opioid epidemic is affecting mostly white people is probably helping that last one.)

I don’t know if letters to the editor reflect Arkansans’ opinion in general, but if they do, I’m glad to see the trend toward progressive attitudes. Keep those letters coming!

MAYA PORTER

Johnson