I'm a little tired of the Speakout snobs.

You know, the people who think everyone who writes a Speakout is a moron.

I'm the person here who edits Speakout, and I can see from the e-mail addresses who sent many of them. Many of them are coming from local professionals and businesspeople, from professors and teachers, from community leaders and retirees who once held influential positions around here.

I have been here more than 30 years, so I remember Speakout from the old days, when people would call in their comments to a recorder. The newsroom clerk had to listen to the tape, try to figure out what people were saying and type it up.

It took ages, and many of the comments were cut out because they were libelous or made no sense.

When we decided to bring Speakout back, we purposely required that they be sent by e-mail. Not only was it more time-efficient for us, but we figured that making sure the people who sent them could at least type or use a computer might weed out some of the sketchier submissions.

I still have to cut some of the comments, but I think many of them are well reasoned and heartfelt.

People should pay attention to what the Speakout writers are saying. These are concerns that really matter to people's lives.

I'm sure many of the people who write to Speakout also care about the war in Iraq, the government bailout, the health-care system and other, weightier concerns. Those might be the issues they would write about in Letters to the Editor.

But they are happy to also have an outlet where they can talk about things that have a very direct impact in their lives, like how prom courts are chosen, the traffic annoyances we all face, whether the neighbor's dog is messing up yards and whether kids should be able to make out in school.

Speakout is also a place where people can raise issues without fear of recrimination or retribution — it is a voice for the voiceless in our society.

If I were an elected official or a school-board member or someone who ran a local business, I would really pay attention to what people in Speakout care about.

Speakout has done a lot of good over the years. Back in the early days, someone wrote about a town that was paving private driveways. That practice stopped right away. Someone recently wrote to point out that the dog park near the City Beach had fallen into disrepair. I'm sure Public Works got right on that.

Another reason to read Speakout? Young people seem to love it and are participating in the civic life of their community by expressing their views in the newspaper — some for the first time ever.

It's not as if anyone can write irresponsible comments and get them published anonymously. We still reject comments that we consider libelous or inappropriate, including personal attacks.

And after a certain topic has outlived its usefulness, I am cutting them off. I think we have all heard enough about roundabouts, MLD and teacher benefits for a while.

Anyone who wants to express their feelings about any of these topics can write a Letter to the Editor.

One of the other topics I have cut is the pros and cons of returning Speakout. But I can tell you that the debate over Speakout leans overwhelmingly toward support of its return, with many of the writers eloquently expressing its merits.

Lois Clermont can be reached by
e-mail: lclermont@pressrepublican.com