Do you have any idea what it is like to have to sift through the drivel and the genius to decide what goes into the daily Viewpoint pages? Sometimes it's a difficult task, having to decide between really compelling and well-written contributions to the intellectual discourse in this Catholic university community. More often, however, what gets printed is the least of a few dismal evils.

Bearing in mind that all we have to choose from is whatever people send in, you can understand the frequency of debate about homosexuality, football, and all things conservative. When you realize that we may get 30 letters that more or less say "Bob Davie sucks" without much reason or rhetoric, you know why Viewpoint editors feel compelled to print the delusional ramblings from the one person who writes about the conspiracy by the CIA to use fluoride in our drinking water as a mind control substance.

Occasionally we may be so pressed for coherent letters that you might see documents possessing a serious ideological slant (well, it is an opinion page, after all), or worse, a distinct lack of what we in the business call "facts" or "a solid background of reliable information." (For case in point, see a recent letter that misleads readers with the perception that somehow NDSPD's state-certified, academy-graduated, gun-toting, sworn police officers aren't on par with their local counterparts.)

Truly, it is a fascinating job that allows me to peruse the opinions of students and faculty, keeping a tenuous finger on the pulse of the outspoken minority of this unique collection of chrisianity-guided academics we call the Notre Dame family. At the same time it is disheartening to see the vast disillusionment of students jaded by pedantic professors, pointless parietals policies, or acrimonious administrators. Even more depressing is the seeing the obsession shared by far too many campus residents with athletic imperialism and sports supremacy.

Most offensive of course are those who replace "Catholic" in their personal philosophies with ideas like "conservative" or "uniformity" and think the difference is negligible. If you feel so inclined, remember the Gospels and the Catechism decry the death penalty, embrace homosexuals, disdain war, encourage socialism and generally call us to be our brothers' keepers.

No one ever said an opinion can't be shared in fewer than 800 words, and sharing an opinion doesn't mean eliminating all reference to authorities beyond your emotional inner child. I for one would welcome more letters, more pithy and more often. And don't be sheep: write about something new, something exciting, and something that doesn't involve Bob Davie or the infamous waterboy.

And now that I have come to the very brink of calling the general readership unimaginative sheep driven by base instincts and an aversion to genuine discipline and discourse, I challenge someone to prove me wrong. Shed the cloak of apathy you have wrapped yourself in an express yourself. Bare your soul. Go tell it on a mountain; sing it to the highest heaven. You get the drift.

As Yule Brenner (aka Rameses II) would say, "So let it be written, so let it be done."

• Let's get on