My letter to a favorite columnist, Leonard Pitts.

I’m aware of what they say about “echo chambers”, but it really is a form of gratification to read someone who coherently expresses thoughts similar to my own. However, it’s not a weakness to listen closely to an informative thinker such as you. Your opinions are fact-based, and I pride myself on distinguishing fact from self-serving fiction. I know it’s dangerous to predict the future. Maybe it’s a fool’s game. Maybe it’s a chance that has to be taken. It’s called “considering the consequences” of existing conditions if they are allowed to persist. We commonly do it all the time in real life. An extreme example is: If I don’t drink some liquid, then I’ll die of thirst. Most things aren’t that clear-cut. Now here’s where I leave the beaten path and try to scope out the future.

Existing conditions are many and have threads which can lead toward many different destinations. Some of these threads have a commonality, or “color”, and certain colors will end up at the same destination. We must discern the preponderance of the colors. Our task is to identify existing conditions, the threads, and the likely destinations. This is how we decide our future. Hopefully, we take the correct actions now and choose the right path. It’s a mistake to think that it’s too hard to figure out, so we’ll “leave it for later”. I know this is vague and poorly expressed and probably an unwelcome nuisance, but my examination of current conditions causes me to fear for the future. Respectfully,

Michael Dean Cook