“People who would consider it a bizarre breach of conduct to expect anyone to give them a haircut or a can of soda at no cost will ask you, with a straight face and a clear conscience, whether you wouldn’t be willing to write an essay or draw an illustration for them for nothing.” (From an article in the New York Times, today)

A letter from the Editor.

1. We posted an article tonight, with a now-famous image, and immediately a deluge of comments agreeing or disagreeing with…the photo appeared. Only 50% of the readers commenting seemed to have read the article.

So: welcome to elephant. We support views we disagree with, as long as they’re expressed with thoughtfulness. Even if they’re “wrong.” Let’s just remember: this community is not about agreeing with one another, or having another cozy little club or choir to belong to. Elephant Journal is about respectful dialogue. It’s about being “wrong,” sometimes. It’s about allowing views, and confusion, and dialogue to unfold and resolve instead of suppressing or blindly supporting.

I personally feel the photo in question is inspiring. But we can welcome other points of view without boycotting diverse experiences and welcoming only those similar to our own life experience.

In this Fox/MSNBC society, we have to remember to “like” pages or communities that disagree with our views. It’s sad to me that we readily unlike those who would disagree with us. My dad is conservative, my mom is liberal, and I love them both! ~ Waylon.

2. Perhaps because we’ve been growing so quickly, lately, but for the first time elephant is getting a daily question/complaint/reprimand or two about our paywallgate (see the top comment on the last post on this page for an example). So here’s some helpful info that you may not know: you get two articles a day, free. Who wants to read more than that? 98% of our readers read for free. Very few even realize we ask only our most loyal/passionate readers for $1/month (hardly anything) if you would like to read more than two articles a day.

But that’s not all! Want 15 more free, a week? Get our “best of the week” newsletter: http://www.elephantjournal.com/join-the-cause —free!

Finally: does this FB page post too often for your newsfeed? Then unlike this page, and like Best of elephant journal, instead: it posts farrrr less often.

Yours in the vision of Enlightened Society,

Waylon Lewis