Posted on 10/13/2004 1:49:14 PM PDT by Keyes2000mt
I've been an avid fan of young Worldnetdaily columnist Kyle Williams for years. The 15 year-old columnist writes better than most pundits twice his age.
Unfortunately, in recent columns, Kyle has begun a steady downward spiral into despair. A few weeks back, he wrote a column that sounded like the book of Ecclesiastes. His despair cumulated with this week's column where he listed various topics that he could write about and then concluded:
"But I won't, because that would be terribly boring. It's all been hashed and re-hashed by the hundreds of columnists and cable news talking heads. In reality, the whole community of conservative columnists is really irrelevant... We nonchalantly talk about the problems of the world that are affecting the hearts, souls, and minds of people. Real people. Yet, that very important reality is hidden deep within the vanity of politics. You're not going to go to Washington and change the world. A column of political analysis will never change anything."
As my wife has observed, he's too young to be in this much despair. Kyle's run into two problems, one of which I'll discuss in this article and the other which I'll save for another. He's misunderstood the purpose of advocacy columns, which are three-fold.
First, to present an argument in as succinct of a way as possible for people who don't have time for a 3,000 word essay, but need to understand an issue. If you write a good argument, you may be able to sway some opinions.
Second, the job of the columnist is to present good arguments that those who share the author's viewpoint can use to shape and form their own arguments when debating issues.
Third, you give a voice to the voiceless. The columnist doesn't just bring forth his own point of view, but rather in his writing, he brings forth views for people who aren't writers but share that viewpoint. I know that I've received several calls on letters I've written to the local paper where people I've never heard of have called just to say, "I 100% agree with what you said and it needed to be said." Thus people don't feel so much like "lone nuts."
As I look over the hundreds of columns I've written in the past six years, I can say that most haven't made much difference but within the past year I've been reminded that a few words can make a huge difference.
Back in February, I wrote a heartfelt column entitled, "The Truth About the Passion of the Christ" and it had like 20,000 page views and I got more than 100 e-mails from that column including this one from a 20 year-old college student who read my column:
Needless to say, after reading it, I watched the movie that next evening. I just want to thank you so very much for showing concern on these issues, and also want to add that I agreed with all three of your points. So with that, please know that God has used you(and the movie) to turn my life around in an unimaginable way; a way that I'll never regret.
This fall, a Christian gentleman who I'd seen a few times but never really met was running for the school board and I submitted a simple 200-word letter to the editor to our local paper on his behalf. He lost the election, but invited me to help him at the Republican booth at a local event, where he was there in his capacity of State Senate candidate in an uphill battle.
Every time, someone from his district showed up, this man with a lifetime of accomplishments as a missionary and a Christian School administrator showed him this little letter I wrote. I sat there, thinking to myself, "Why is this so important? It's just some little thing I wrote." At the end of our time together, he said that he wasn't able to communicate what I wrote meant to him. He said that when he read it he almost began to weep because, "somebody appreciated what I was trying to do."
Columnists do not change the world, but they can make an impact for individuals. Whenever someone laughs or cries, my writing touches someone, or gives them hope, I've succeeded.
If a columnist no longer sees the point of writing, than he needs to take a long, hard look at whether he's in the right line of business. Because, persistent despair and pessimism does no good for anyone and is a truly pointless activity.
ping
One day he'll get married and really sink into despair.
-KW
Come to the dark side, Kyle. Perhaps a little doobie will loosen you up.
Maybe politics isn't realy interesting to Kyle and he should accept that. Then again, it sounds as though he is going through the introspective teenage years. Many of us try to find meaning to life during those years. The process isn't cheerful, but here's hoping that Kyle will find answers that bring meaning and joy to his life.
No offense to the young man, but when WND started running his column is when I stopped reading WND. I'm sorry but I just don't think there's any insight to be gained from a boy who's younger than some of my shoes and shirts.
Same here.
Maybe he needs to get out a bit, date some fun-loving girls, get a job, go to some parties, eat a few more pizzas, go watch Team America: World Police with some buddies.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.