Political paranoia runs rampant in opinion pages

Carson City appears to have more than its share of political paranoids. Paranoia is popularized as "delusions and ascribing hostile intentions to other persons, especially about particular missions."

This is where the politics comes in.

I suspect we are all afflicted with a bit of political paranoia, especially this time of the year; and most of the time it's not too serious. But occasionally it gets out of hand.

Local columnist Chuck Muth recently ranted against teacher unions " adding teacher unions to the long list of things he hates: government, public schools, higher education, state and federal employees, taxes and motorcycle helmets, to list just a few.

He engages in his anti-union rant without facts, knowledge or acknowledgement of the contributions unions have made to the labor movement in our country: improvements in worker safety, protection of children from corporate exploitation, and increases in wages and benefits so our workforce has had a chance to improve the quality of their lives and the lives of their children.

In terms of teacher unions, I can assure the writer they do not protect incompetent or immoral members.

The teacher union would be the first to join with school policymakers to remove such people based on evidence. However, they would not be keen about taking action based on hearsay or personal opinion, which was quite common before teachers established unions.

I was a classroom teacher during a period when a principal could dismiss an employee based on his personal view (most high school principals were male). The teacher unions did indeed work to protect their members and to fight both racial and gender discrimination. We are all better off because of their work.

There was another recent commentary in which the author makes a clever, but scary argument that America is becoming "socialist."

We are doomed, the writer implies. This is the height of political paranoia. Everyone is out to get us! The entire country is being manipulated. We really can't trust the government to solve problems, only to deprive us of our freedoms. All problems are manufactured " global warming, foreign enemies, fiat government money, unemployment and bank failures. What is the solution? Get rid of the government!

This is scary stuff. What does "getting rid of government" really mean, and what is the malady and distrust that causes such a viewpoint?

Finally, letters to the editor also are taking a nasty turn toward political paranoia, letters that question the theory of evolution, that raise questions about President Obama's birthplace and lash out with vicious language at anyone who disagrees with them.

These are not expressions of civil discourse. These commentators appear to be filled with hate and anger while trying to make their opinions appear factual.

Nevada state archivist Guy Rocha gave us all something to think about when he concluded at his recent retirement dinner with an observation that has shaped his life: "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. In turn, everyone is entitled to their own opinions of the facts, but not their own facts based on their opinions."

It is wise counsel for all of us to follow.

- Dr. Eugene T. Paslov, former Nevada Superintendent of Schools, is a board member for Silver State Charter School.