A good reminder for opinion writers

Much of what I write at this blog is my opinion.  When I have the facts and the time, I’ll hyperlink to support my argument, but sometimes I just talk.  As part of a larger article attacking the truly execrable Paul Krugman (whose inchoate, mean-spirited, inane opinion-writing helped speed me down the path from liberal to conservative), Stephen Spruiell offers these words of warning to all those who, as I do, trade in political opinion pieces:

The occupational hazards of opinion journalism include certain intellectual and moral bad habits: Logical fallacies offer tempting shortcuts through difficult arguments. Blind spots for procedural abuses suddenly afflict us when it’s our guys making the rules. Preaching to the converted, though lazy and ultimately self-defeating, is rewarded in the short term by the amen chorus. I agree with my colleague Jason Lee Steorts, who has written about how hard it is to avoid the “shrillness, mean-spiritedness, and insincerity” that characterize so much contemporary opinion writing. I would add that in my experience, the more frequently you write, the harder it is to avoid becoming a caricature of yourself. Those redoubtable few who can manage a prodigious output of consistently high quality (the founder of this magazine comes to mind) are exceptional. More common is the writer who is usually good but occasionally slips.

One of the things I love about the blog format, with its comment section, is that I trust you guys to keep me honest. That’s one of the mercies of being read by thousands, instead of tens of thousands — one gets a nice flow of comments that’s powerful, without being overwhelming.