People have the right to voice their opinion

Everyone has an opinion that they would like to share. An opinion could be expressed on many topics like politics, food, health, religion and sports. Whether you agree or disagree with someone’s opinion, it is a subjective claim and you can’t always prove if it is right or wrong.

As a sports fan myself, my friends as well as other people have differing opinions regarding the teams that we root for as well as different topics happening in sports. I know with football season slowly approaching, the topic of fantasy football has been brought up.

One friend said that if he had the first pick in the draft that he’d take Travis Kelce. I disagreed with him, because he’d be better off taking either Justin Jefferson, Christian McCaffrey or Austin Ekeler. Others agreed with him while there were others that agreed with my reasoning.

I did tell him that it’s not a bad choice to take Kelce but I mostly suggested getting a running back or wide receiver with his first pick instead of a tight end. I felt like that he’d have a better chance snagging Kelce with his second pick instead of missing out on a dynamic player like Ekeler or Jefferson.

Politics has been a hot topic in the world, given the political climate that we’ve witnessed in the last decade or so. We’ve seen how it can get hostile if someone disagreed with a political opinion and we’ve gotten away from the notion that we respect everyone’s opinion.

The younger generation of people has gotten more involved with causes happening around the world. From my perspective, I think that it’s a good thing that we have more voices and that we should not discourage them from expressing it. Whether the cause isn’t as important to you as you think it is, these people are passionate about it and are taking action by raising awareness.

I do understand why people tend to stay away from voicing their political beliefs and opinions. Politics is a polarizing topic to talk about and some feel it’s better to keep their opinions to themselves.

There are residents here in Hammonton who have addressed their concerns for what is happening around town. Topics include the repeated problems of the town’s water supply, the opening of a recreational cannabis dispensary in town and the purchase of the Wells Fargo Bank building. Residents have gone to town council meetings to address those concerns and some have expressed it by word of mouth to others.

If you have an opinion that you’d like to share on anything such as what’s going on around town, any issues that could affect you or what it’s like to be a resident of the Blueberry Capital of the World, The Gazette is open to those who want to voice their opinions on any topic.

Everyone should be entitled to have a voice on what matters to them. The town’s water supply issues have affected residents and they want those issues to be addressed. There are concerns with geese feces spreading all over Hammonton Lake Park. Maybe someone isn’t a big fan of the Mount Carmel Festival, although I don’t believe that is true but that’s an example that I’m throwing in there.

If you have an opinion you’d like to share, begin with an introduction to the topic you’d like to discuss and state your reasonings behind it and then conclude it with closing remarks by reemphasizing why you believe in it. When stating it, list at least three reasons why and include statistics and facts based on your research.

The same could be said with Letters to the Editor. The Gazette has had people send their condolences for recognizable people in town who have died, others that have voiced their displeasure for changes happening in town.

Someone shouldn’t feel bad about believing in a cause that is near and dear to them. If you believe someone should be the next president of the United States, there’s nothing wrong with expressing it. Like I have stated before, an opinion has no right or wrong answer.

If you believe in something and you want everyone to know, you have the right to do so. We have that avenue with town council opening for public discussion, but we also want the public to use this platform to get their point across.

If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out. I look forward to hearing the many voices of the residents who care so deeply for this town.

Mohammed Fuad is the editor for The Hammonton Gazette.