Pothole Prairie by Tim Engstrom

Letters, letters, letters, letters and more letters. We have had a truckload of letters to the editor in recent weeks and we expect to have another truckload this week especially. Heck, there were three opinion pages in the Sunday paper.

Some folks might say it’s just a bunch of dumb politics, but I see lots of letters as a good thing. It means this community — unlike so many places — has a healthy and vibrant public dialogue going. You wouldn’t believe how many towns lack that. In fact, some places prefer the hushed approach, unfortunately. Here, people put their views all on the table. That’s how democracy works best.

I remember when we would only have to print an extra page for letters only a few times during the final week of campaign season. These days, we are doing it for weeks on end. This town understands the value of speaking up when it comes to having a strong democracy.

It’s not so much about whether each and every letter is right or wrong in the delivery of facts. These are not facts. They are opinions. Regular newspaper readers know this and take that into account when reading opinionated material. Going into their voting booths, voters need to know not merely what the facts of election-related issues, they need to know the opinions about those facts. It’s simple human behavior to need to hear an opinion to get off the fence.

Take me, for example. I know sometimes I might read facts about an issue, but I don’t really form my own opinion until I either hear someone else state an opinion I find agreeable or, better yet, find disagreeable.

What’s more, I find it valuable to know who is speaking the opinion. It is important to me to see the names at the end of letters. Some tend to carry more weight than others and, thus, wield greater influence. We are social creatures who do not form voting decision based on only the facts. We want and need opinions and emotions, too.

 

Party abbreviations

OK, now for something entirely different. Ever wonder what the Albert Lea Tribune uses for abbreviations after the names of politicians? Most readers know DFL and R for Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and Republican Party, as in Mark Dayton, DFL-Minneapolis, and Jeff Johnson, R-Plymouth, but what about the others? Well, here is the entire guide:

AIP: American Independent Party

AKI: Alaskan Independence Party

AmC: American Constitution

Amr: American Party

BEP: Blue Enigma Party

CC: Concerned Citizens Party

CE: Centrist Party

CL: Christian Liberty Party

Con: Conservative Party

CST: Constitution Party

CM: Cool Moose Party

D: Democratic Party

DFL: Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party

EF: Earth Federation

EDP: Ecology Democracy Party

FEP: Free Energy Party

Fre: Freedom Party

GR: Grassroots Party

Grn: Green Party

I: independent (no party)

IP: Independence Party

IAP: Independent American Party

IGr: Independent Green Party

INR: Independent Reform

IPD: Independent Party of Delaware

IPU: Independent Party of Utah

IPR: Independent-Progressive Party

Lbl: Liberal Party

Lib: Libertarian

LMJ: Legalize Marijuana

LU: Liberty Union

Mnt: Mountain Party

Mod: Moderate Party

MRP: Marijuana Reform Party

NL: Natural Law Party

Pat: Patriot Party

PGr: Pacific Green Party

PF: Peace and Freedom Party

Prg: Progressive Party

R: Republican Party

Ref: Reform Party

SVR: Second Vermont Republic

Soc: Socialist Party

STG: D.C. Statehood Green Party

SWP: Socialist Workers Party

TEA: Tea Party

TRP: The Resource Party

TTP: The Third Party

UCP: United Citizens Party

UST: U.S. Taxpayers Party

WF: Working Families Party

 

If we write a historical piece, we generally don’t use the abbreviations, so that’s why you don’t see Whig Party, Federalist Party, Anti-Masonic Party, Know-Nothing Party, Free Soil Party, Populist Party, Bull Moose Party, Greenback Party, Democratic-Republican Party, U.S. Labor Party, Economic Recovery Party, Farmer-Labor Party and other odd names from days of yore on the list.

In case you are wondering, there still is a Communist Party USA, but it hasn’t fielded a presidential candidate since 1984. It generally was abbreviated as CP. That’s why none of the other ones starting with C have that abbreviation.

 

Tribune Editor Tim Engstrom’s column appears every Tuesday.