Editorial
The
difference between a mother and a newspaper
Recently, citizens have been expressing their concerns
that The Monument Newspaper has chosen to place an
advertisement on the front page promoting cigarettes.
Their concerns were not that there was an ad on the
front page, an entirely different philosophical discussion
in itself, but that the ad was selling cigarettes,
an item they deemed unworthy of endorsement. Their
concerns ranged from the emotional, reacting with
personal experiences on how choices to use cigarettes
have harmed their loved ones, to finger pointing at
the paper for failing to encourage a healthy lifestyle
for readers.
Regular readers know that The Monument has
constantly promoted two ideals: freedom of information
and speech, and personal choices based upon informed
decisions. To that end, the newspaper's task in the
community is to keep the door to government access
and information open as wide as possible and to encourage
citizens to make choices based on that information.
It is not to make those choices for them.
Our stance is that capitalism is a wonderful thing.
In America people can frequent any business they choose,
purchase any legal item that they choose, start any
business that they choose, including a newspaper.
That's because the Constitution and Bill of Rights
guarantees 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,'
among other principles.
Rather than start down the road of deciding what is
healthy and appropriate to bring to readers with respect
to editorial content or advertising, The Monument
chooses to publish editorial content on a variety
of subjects, and to accept advertising from legal
businesses that sell legal items.
Our decision is that if it is legal, the business
owner has every right to try and make a go of it as
much as any other business in town. And readers have
the choice to purchase their product, read the paper
of their choice that may or may not contain various
advertisements palatable to them, and to discuss the
results of their choices freely, because we live in
America.
Editorial
Cartoon
By
Marty Riskin
