With Modern America, The Best You Can Do Is Laugh: Kathleen Parker

The first step to being a writer is to become a reader. In every class I've taken, it has been of the utmost importance to continue reading in the style that you are trying to emulate.

While I think it is extremely important to find unbiased articles about political and social situations, I also think it is intellectually stimulating and important for American democracy to read opinion articles. Reading opinion articles from multiple perspectives can combat the issues that come from an echo chamber. 

Since my first journalism class in high school, I've read the New York Times almost daily and since freshman year of college, I've also been a subscriber to the The Washington Post. 

Kathleen Parker

One writer that I follow is Kathleen Parker, a columnist for The Washington Post. She specializes in politics and culture pieces and is known for adding comedic timing to her posts, no matter how controversial the topic may be. 

Recently, Parker wrote a piece about her grief following her brother's passing. This piece is a beautiful tribute to her brother's legacy while also having timely wit throughout the piece. This piece also, somewhat, serves as a memoir of her own experiences, that she shared with her brother, and yet she doesn't take the focus off Jack. It's a piece where Parker touches on regret with her relationship with Jack and yet, the mood of the piece is light- hearted, like those who leave us are never truly gone. 

In another one of her pieces, Parker covers the story of a deranged mother who killed her children. She switches voices, going from "hard news" when covering the gruesome facts of the case and then to a softer voice when calling the mother names such as "delusional" and "needy". 

Which happen to be nicer than the words I would use for the mom-that-kills. 

Overall, Parker still uses her casual style that is found in all of her articles and yet treats the father and the memory of the children with grace by sharing antidotes that make the reader remember more than just the worst thing that happened to them. She uses details to bring the reader into the courtroom of the trial or to the park bench where she found out the verdict. 

And to the prison where the mother was having "sexual relations" with guards. 

By no means does Parker shy away from heavy topics. In another article of hers, she defends the right for trans women to use the women's restroom with a new agreement I have yet to hear. Parker does not want to share a uni-sex bathroom with cis-gendered men. Parker, again, uses timely wit, to defend her positioning on the controversial transgender issue and puts the focus on biological men. Parker does not dive too deep into the issue but instead makes the argument that it is silly to be so focused on where Americans pee. 

I enjoy Parker's writing because I also enjoy adding comedic timing, when appropriate. Although, maybe someday I'll be seasoned enough to add it even when it is not. Reading heavy issues can be daunting and overwhelming, which is why many people stay away from the news. However, I think we could all benefit from taking things a little less seriously. 

Maybe then we could have a real discussion when we all don't hate each other.

Maybe we could even come up with real solutions!