Logic! What do they teach in school these days?

One of my biggest goals in homeschooling is that my children learn to think. As such, I have spent two years teaching Logic, and Chandler is signed up for a Logic class as she begins her high school journey. I have found that the Letters to the Editor provide a perfect place to look for both logical and illogical thinking. One particular letter attacking Miss California provided the most egregious examples of logical fallacies I have yet seen.

I had to respond!

Yesterday it was published in our local newspaper, The Press Telegram. Here it is in its entirety.


Regardless of what you believe about same-sex marriage, the attacks on Miss California are so full of logical fallacies as to be embarrassing, and are actually working counter to the cause.

The letter from Jason Thompson (" `The Donald' has it all wrong," May 24) is a perfect example. He first states that she never answered the question, but only gave her opinion. The question was, "Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit?" Her answer implied a clear "no" and yes, it was her opinion. That's what was asked for when the judge prefaced his question with "Do you think ..."

Thompson wonders what this teaches our children, and then follows with several non sequiturs about it being a divisive topic and wondering whether she gave her life to God before or after breast implants. Are Christians not supposed to have plastic surgery? Where is that in the Bible? And what does that have to do with what we are teaching our children? Jason Thompson is teaching the children that you can use ad hominem attacks on a person you disagree with.

Then he brings up the racy photos of her that in his legal opinion constitute fraud, even though the person she supposedly defrauded, Donald Trump, doesn't see it that way. Now we are onto the red herring fallacy. What do these photos, her Christian faith or her alleged fraud have to do with her opinion on same-sex marriage, which began this whole controversy? Nothing.

One point I have never seen mentioned is that as the representative of California, where same-sex marriage was rejected, she only said what the majority said at the ballot box. She is also parroting the opinion of President Obama, whom the majority of Americans put in office. So her views are exactly in line with voters.

Michelle Lasch
Long Beach