My Three Years Writing a FāVS News Column

My Three Years Writing a FāVS News Column

Commentary by Steven A. Smith

I am celebrating an anniversary this coming week.

I have been writing a weekly column for FāVS for three years next week. If my count is right, this is my 160th column.

When I retired from the University of Idaho, my biggest fears were typical of professionals ending long careers. I worried about being bored. And I worried that after a life of service to journalism I would no longer be relevant.

Then FāVS Executive Director Tracy Simmons agreed to let me write an occasional column. We had met at UI where I was first introduced to FāVS, the hyperlocal digital news site she had been running for about 10 years.

I was not completely familiar with her site’s goals and priorities. And to be honest, the name gave me pause. To an atheist, the notion of a news site devoted to faith and values seemed inconsistent with my own beliefs.

Unbelievers Welcome

But Tracy assured me an unbeliever would be welcome. Besides, hyperlocal digital news sites can always use content. So, I started writing.

My first column ran on July 5, 2020.

And I wrote this: “Writing about personal and professional values is my sweet spot, I think. And that will be the focus of my work for FāVS. I hope to write about the intersection of values and politics, the intersection of values and journalism, even the intersection of values and faith.”

I like to think I have held true to that initial focus. But I did tell a white lie. In the original draft, I wrote that my personal belief system was atheist. And that would be true. But I pulled the punch, thinking that might be too direct for my first column. So, I described my faith as lying somewhere between agnosticism and atheism, a description I thought might be more palatable to FāVS readers.

That may be the last time I pulled a punch to spare readers my real feelings. My bio on this site says directly that I am an atheist. To my surprise, there has been almost no pushback, no efforts to convert me into a true believer. This is one reason I appreciate FāVS readers. They always seem to respect differing points of view.

I wrote about my journey to unbelief in an Aug., 3, 2021, column. It is one of my favorites.

Of course, out of 160 columns, it is not easy to pick favorites.

My View from the Front Porch

Regular readers know that I often write about the view from my front porch, a favorite place for people-watching, reflection and an occasional cigar.

I first wrote about the porch on Aug. 4, 2020, at the worst point in the COVID pandemic and lockdown. But a Sunday morning on the porch helped me put worldly concerns aside for a time.

I wrote: “I am alive. You are alive. The richness of our lives — whatever the challenges, whatever the inconveniences of social distancing and masking  — is the ultimate blessing.”

On Religion

Of course, I have often written about religion. I have attacked white Christian nationalism and the religions that divide us. I once wrote that as a secular Jew, I might yet be forced to flee this country to escape an anti-Semitic tsunami.

One of my best-read columns detailed my complete and total surrender to Christmas, posted on Nov. 17, 2020. I wrote: “Ask any non-Christian. The notion that there is some sort of war against Christmas in this country is laughably wrong. We are perpetually drowning in Christmas, which can make life difficult for non-believers. But it is over. I surrender. There is no fight left in me.”

I have written often about Hanukkah. My Nov. 23, 2021, column is among my best-read. I wrote about the holiday’s history, framing it around the story of Rachel Posner, who defiantly placed her Hanukkah menorah in her front window across the street from Nazi headquarters in 1932 Germany.

I wrote: “…I came to understand, as Rachel Posner demonstrated, that Hanukkah is so much more than an action story. The menorah, placed in public view, is a defiant light in the darkness, a symbol of Jewish resistance to the forces that would obliterate us. And that symbolism is as important today as it was in 1932.”

Getting Personal

Given my family history, I suppose it is to be expected that I often write about Nazis, white supremacists, white Christian nationalists and other hate mongers, including Donald Trump.

I once tried to count the number of columns I have written about Trump. But he is low-hanging fruit these days and so I try to write about him in the context of other events such as the war in Ukraine.

As with most news columnists, I try to write on topics of the day. I do my research and try to be reasoned if not reasonable. I believe that good commentary is fact-based, and that commentary based strictly on emotions is merely a personal rant.

But I have ranted on occasion. Most recently I produced an emotional rant on gun control. Facts certainly do not inform the gun control debate so why not get emotional?

I learned early in my FāVS career that sometimes readers appreciate a more personal column. As a former journalist who was not expected to provide too much personal information, it has not always been easy to reveal details of my life. But I have talked about my marriages, my friends, my health, and my weight. Recently, I even wrote about my facial hair.

My Favorite?

I have been asked to identify my favorite column of the 160 so far. I do not hesitate.

The column ran on Aug. 18, 2020, and told the story of a man who was not of my blood but could have been called uncle. He was married to my grandmother before he went missing in World War I. Years later, he surfaced in Paris. He contacted his daughter, my aunt, begging to be rescued from Europe as it was overrun bv the Nazis. He did not escape. He was murdered in Auschwitz. I discovered the date of his death, Aug. 24, 1943.

His name was Chaim Schmauss, and in naming him I hoped to rescue his memory from the oblivion to which his Nazi killers sought to send him. It is easily my favorite column.

In retirement I feared boredom and a loss of relevancy. The weekly column addresses the boredom concern. I spend a couple of days a week writing for FāVS. It is not a full-time job. But it is more than enough to keep my brain occupied and to satisfy my need to write.

Three Years and Counting

Relevancy is a harder issue to address. With FāVS my weekly readership ranges from about 100 to maybe 200 in a good week. I do not expect my column to shake the world. But I do hear from readers who appreciate my point of view — and those who do not. That may be limited relevancy, but it works for me.

Before moving on, I must thank my editors. Tracy Simmons, the executive director, and Cassy Benefield, the managing editor. Their support, and especially their patience, allows me to stay on this wonderful platform.

So, it is three years and counting. Sometime in 2024 I will hit 200 columns. I can only wonder what the subject will be.