Just for the heck of it, I am going to sharpen my editor's pencil (okay, so all editing is on a computer anyway) and enforce an edict I am now issuing:
There will be no Sound Off items on the topics of religion or national politics for one week.
That's right: No defending or bashing of either presumptive presidential candidate. Or anyone on the national political stage. Not even a quip about John Edwards' admission of an extramarital affair.
Also, no religion.
I'll allow the complaint in Tuesday's Sound Off about no Bible in a funeral home to check a biblical reference, because that's a customer-service statement. But forget the sermonizing about Christianity versus Buddhism, Hinduism and atheism. We've heard enough.
Sound Off is a forum intended to air questions, complaints and compliments about local issues.
Because the comments are anonymous and are phoned in instead of written, the column is edgier, more honest, and more amusing that letters to the editor or news stories. But, it also runs the risk of being nastier, off-point, self-serving and repetitive.
On some subjects, we just have to proclaim "Enough already!" and move on.
Such has been the case in the past with baseball coaches, the never-ending debate over the legality of turning right on a red light, and some specific dog complaints.
There are other tiring back-and-forths that we have not squelched, but suffice it to say that we know all too well that many of our readers do not like a certain environmental activist group, that not everyone approves of where their neighbors park their cars or how they treat their pets, and not everyone likes to tip restaurant servers.
At its worst, Sound Off is just a string of gripes. But at its best, it is a delightful view of the trivial joys and annoyances that fill our lives here in the Schuylkill River valley.
Returned a found wallet? Look for the owner's thank-you in Sound Off.
Want to see the weeds cut on a public property? Sound Off can get results.
Just want to share some nostalgia or a witty line to make someone smile? Sound Off is here for you.
But as editor, I am exercising my publisher-given rights to a break from two topics that are currrently choking the life out of Sound Off.
No religion and no national politics for one week from today until Aug. 19. If you don't like it, you can complain to me at nmarch@pottsmerc.com or call me at 610-970-4470.