The guest column by Crystal Neva in the Feb. 2 Bellingham Herald provides to me a model of how all of us should conduct our political discourse. This writer's calm, carefully reasoned writing about controversial same-sex marriage combined factual information and personal opinion while avoiding shallow slogans and cliches. She differs from the polemical name-calling attacks used in much of our unending political campaigns, especially the snarling over such issues as health care, taxation, abortion, presidential birth places and personal wealth.

One certainly may disagree with this columnist's conclusions. But in doing so we should respond to, not ignore, the author's arguments, and then strive to establish our own position and give reasons for it just as cogently as she does for hers.

Bob Keller

Bellingham