May 15, 2025 Editor, The News-Gazette: My professional obligations as a library circulation assistant require me to regularly handle and catalogue The News-Gazette’s publications. As a member of Generation Z, I’m sure I will surprise no one when I admit that I have never held a physical newspaper before. And I must further confess: this novel experience has not left me unaffected.
Of particular interest to me is the letters section. The fact that an ordinary resident can write to a news outlet and legitimately expect something to come of it is truly remarkable. To my great dismay, however, it seems that readers of The News-Gazette have little on their minds beyond national politics.
Nobody, to my knowledge, has commented on how lovely the trails are looking now that spring has arrived. Nobody, to my knowledge, has criticized that eyesore of a traffic barrier that has blemished our lovely downtown for weeks. Nobody, to my knowledge, has commented on Washington and Lee’s latest construction projects.
I enjoy those trails every week. I’m bothered by that ugly barrier every day. I walk by those construction sites every morning. Those are the things I see, the things I experience, the things that affect me. I suspect a broken traffic light would have a much greater impact on the daily life of a Rockbridge County resident than any executive order. By spending all of their time watching the news, people have lost sight of what matters: their community. CHRISTIAN DAVIS Lexington
