Writer objects to headline on his letter

Dear editor:

Well, shame on me. Apparently, I was naive in believing that I could submit a letter to the editor without the intent and spirit of the letter being drastically changed. My letter was a light-hearted tongue-in-cheek little satire that was intended to make folks think -- and draw their own conclusions. I titled it as "Food For Thought." There was no malicious attack on any real person or government official.

By arbitrarily labeling my letter to the editor as "'Archie Bunker in White House" you thoroughly changed the intent and spirit of my letter. Instead of allowing readers to think and draw their own conclusions -- you jumped ahead and told them what they should think! You changed it into a mean-spirited personal attack which angered a number of readers. Attaching your misleading headline to my name and letter was wrong.

For those folks who were offended, please try to clear your mind and consider my letter without the insulting headline. You may or may not appreciate my little satire -- but it's intended message was certainly different than what was printed in the last issue.

Larry Steckelberg

(Editor's note: I've said this before and I'll say it again. Don't send in headlines with letters to the editor. The odds are horribly low that they would fit the rules for point size, font and column width where they are placed. After that, the clearer the letter is, the less likely some headline is going to result in a change of intent.)