I attended some, but not all, of the Unveiling the Truth conference held in Olds in October. My comments are based on the sessions that I attended.
Of the three sessions that were referred to in the Oct. 25 Olds Albertan, two were sessions that I attended. A message that I felt came across clearly from the speakers was that when speaking to people with whom we disagree, do so respectfully and kindly.
The Albertan articles did not include that, and as a result, some readers, who were not in attendance, have gotten the impression that the speakers were harsh and unkind. The people that I heard were not. Unfortunately, a lot of people in the community are upset.
I also feel that some of the speakers' comments that were quoted in the Albertan were not representative of the overall messages of the sessions. The people most qualified to comment on a speaker's message are those who heard the presentation in its entirety.
It has been my experience that some people demonstrate a lack of understanding of the complexity of the sensitive issues that were discussed at the conference, and a lack of empathy for those who struggle with them. Many of us can do better in this regard. However, I did not get that impression from the speakers; quite the contrary.
There were a lot of people at the conference. We may not all agree with each other on everything. You may not agree with everything you heard from each speaker – or perhaps you do. Either way, if you were in attendance, I encourage you to write a letter to the editor with your comments about the conference. You deserve to have your opinions heard at least as much as those of people who weren't there.
Joy Casselman
Olds
