All of my life I have loved fiction as learning and teaching tools, starting with Nancy Drew. Within that genre of books I am grateful that my granddaughter insisted that I read Harry Potter. In fact now we have a book club of two who are reading a fantasy series, Book 1 in the Poppy War series by R. F. Kuang.

The fantasy books the last 20 years have so much social dysfunction. Again, a new generation is struggling to create a better world. Within our aging population here in western Massachusetts I suspect many of us can relate; some with sadness; others with hope.

But I must say protests do not ring real with me. It’s kind of like, “been there done that.” I wonder what the dire predictions, calls to resistance, even violence, and one-sided opinion pieces accomplish other than further division. Ferment and toil no longer work.

I find headlines and articles on the opinion pages as well as the front pages, create stormy turmoil and ferment stress.

How many times must we hear that people have turned off the news due to its sturm and drang. Allow me to give a recent example from a guest column in the Recorder explaining how cuts to the U.S. nutrition budget will devastate region (April 8). The first paragraph indicates that an estimated $440,000 worth of food will be cut from the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. That sounds like a horrendous cut until the next sentence when it says “this represents 1% of the total of last year’s distribution.” This is why math matters.

I wonder if our political leaders here in western Massachusetts understand that the past few years of serious inflation has affected working people struggling with rising food costs, making decisions to cut back or eliminate items from shopping lists of more than 1%. Yes, I am making a distinction. The working class makes just enough not to be eligible for heating assistance for example. This foments class warfare. Destroying the middle class is not the answer … radical anything doesn’t work.

Even writing a column has become tedious while I attempt to anticipate how my words will be distorted. She who controls the language controls the debate or lack thereof. For example: undocumented resident vs. illegal alien.

A discerning reader knows illegal and alien, too, commonly understood terms just a decade ago. Oh, I know alien sounds scary — grow up. Wait, was that judgmental? Yessiree, but, also known as an opinion because we have allowed a concern about illegal immigration to become distorted into an anti-immigration position.

Unfortunately, most American high schools no longer have debating clubs. For those younger than I, please know what is called a “debate” on TV is merely theater.

Perhaps a reading of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates would open some eyes; or, a reading about the nastiness between Jefferson and Adams. Both make “mean girls” look like amateurs. And that leads to actual facts. The legacy medium deserves its slow death for what it reports or doesn’t.

For those hysterical about “democracy,” you are confirmation that James Madison’s thoughts in Federalist 55 were so accurate. That paper is of local interest since it referenced Shaw’s Rebellion.

Marguerite Morris Willis lives in Charlemont.