There have been many important letters written throughout modern history: Oscar Wilde’s “De Profundis,” “Dear Friend” sent by Mahatma Gandhi to Adolf Hitler in 1939, the letters sent from Malcolm X to Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963-64, the letters the Zodiac Killer sent to San Francisco newspapers, Virginia O’Hanlon’s letter to the editor of the New York Sun asking if there was in fact a Santa Claus. However, we seem to have entered into an era when the only letters written are of the open variety. Intended to communicate a position to as many people as possible, these types of letters often spark more avenues of controversy and debate than the initial topic might otherwise have warranted.
Column: Why Ohio State players’ letter created controversy
