Steven Starr clearly took offense at my criticism of Barack Hussein Obama (“What We Demand of Others We Must Demand of Ourselves,” December 7, 2023 and “Obama’s Quest to Reshape the World,” November 30, 2023). His letter adhered to the formula used by the far left to attack anyone with whom they disagree.

Their first step is to attack the targeted message and messenger using stock leftist tropes. In my case, Starr included charges such as “Wisotsky… advanced half-baked conspiracy theories” and he also castigated media like The Jewish Link, which gives a platform to Jew-haters like “those of Wisotsky’s ilk that contain far more fiction than fact and are driven by a barely hidden agenda of hostility and bias.”

Of course, anyone who knows anything about me or The Jewish Link immediately recognizes the preposterous nature of these charges. However, they do serve several useful purposes. For example, they immediately identify writers like Starr to others of “his ilk” on the far left to try to solicit their sympathy and support, sort of like a secret handshake among fellow members of secret societies. Also, it deflects the reader’s attention, which serves to give them an opening to go on to advance their own agenda, irrespective of the original message.

Their coup de grace inevitably is their invoking of the appeal to free speech. Starr correctly states that the U.S. Constitution protects an individual’s expression of free speech. But then he goes on to demand that, in the very name of free speech itself, outlets like The Jewish Link must not print opposing arguments. In other words, everyone has the right to free speech, but only those who agree with Starr and his fellow travelers should be allowed to express theirs. This contradiction demonstrates the absurdity of their position.

Max Wisotsky
Highland Park