I'm always surprised at the different ways people interpret my job and my ability to both express my opinion as well as others.
That would include those I don't necessarily agree with.
That's right, just because I don't agree with what a person has to say does not mean I will not find a spot for that opinion in the newspaper.
I do it all the time.
Take Chris Freind for instance.
Chris is one of our weekly columnists. Late yesterday I posted his column online that appears in today's print edition.
In it, Chris takes the position that - at least on this one issue - Donald Trump is right. NFL owners should fire these players who are taking a knee and otherwise protesting during the National Anthem.
I don't happen to agree with him.
In fact, I have stated so, both here in my personal blog as well as on our editorial page.
Some people believe I should not be offering Chris Freind a platform - as well as a fairly large megaphone - to make his point.
As soon as the column was posted online and hit social media, the backlash was pretty clear.
People not only disagreed with the column, they also disagreed with my decision to publish it all.
This happens more times than you might think.
I always caution people who harbor those thoughts that what they are espousing is censorship, and that is a very dangerous, slippery slope to go down.
So today I will take the heat. I will defend Chris' right to offer his opinion, even while I disagree with what he said.
That is one of the core tenets of this job.
Our opinion pages are meant to be something of a community marketplace, where all kinds of ideas are offered.
I don't necessarily think there is any one right - or wrong - opinion.
Those who do are pretty visible every day on Facebook and Twitter.
If you have an opinion, bring it on. That's one of the reasons we're still here.
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