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I wrote well over 400 columns for the Boone County Journal in the last eight years. Most focused on the communities of Ashland, Hartsburg, and the rest of rural Southern Boone County. A typical Travis Naughton opinion piece might include stories about kids, teaching, music, or hot rods. I wrote several stories that called attention to local heroes and people who deserve to be recognized for trying to make the world a better place. And yes, I did pen a political piece on occasion, but only rarely.

After my column about presidential politics was posted last week, Boone County Journal owner (and Ashland mayor) Gene Rhorer decided to send me a loud and clear message. When I opened this week's paper to look for my column in it's usual spot on page three, I saw a letter-to-the editor, written about me, in its place.

Over the years, countless readers have taken the time to write a letter in order to voice their displeasure with my opinions. I have always welcomed such discourse. After all, readers are entitled to their opinions, too. However, this week was the first time that my column had ever been replaced by a reader's letter.

I wrote a damned-good column for this week's paper, one that celebrated the achievements of young people. I spent over three hours writing and refining the piece, as I always do, in order for the writing to be as good as possible. Without a simple heads-up or any explanation whatsoever, publisher Gene Rhorer cut my column and instead ran a rambling letter that attacked me both as a writer and as a citizen.

Why? That's exactly what I asked Gene when we spoke on the phone later Wednesday evening. Before I could ask, though, Gene had a question for me. "Travis, will you admit that your column last week was pointed? Will you admit that?"

"Yes," I answered.

"So you admit it was politically a very pointed column?" Gene asked again.

"Yes, I've written several political columns over the years."

"Well I had a stack of 6 or 7 letters from readers after we ran your last column, and I had to choose one to put in the paper. You understand that?"

"Yes, I understand. I have no problem sharing the opinion page with readers' letters. I've done that lots of times. I'm just not sure why you replaced my column with the letter instead of running both."

"It's my dollar, Travis. I won't be chastised by you."

"I'm not chastising you, Gene. I'm just confused as to why you didn't give me the courtesy of a heads-up first. Something like, 'Travis, I'm not running your column this week. We'll have you back next week.' I shouldn't have had to open the paper to read my column and discover a letter attacking me in it's place."

"Don't chastise me," Gene repeated. "It's my dollar. I will run this paper the way I see fit."

"I'm not chastising you or telling you how to run your paper. I just think it would have been a decent thing to let me know what was going on before I had to find out that way."

"I will not be chastised, Travis. It's my dollar. Stop chastising me."

Exasperated, I said, "Gene, I'm glad you know the word 'chastised', but I'm just asking you a question. I'm not chastising anyone." (For the record, "chastise" is defined as "to rebuke or reprimand severely.") I said, "I'm just upset that after eight years of writing for the paper and serving this community, this is the way you decided to treat me. I think I deserve better than that."

Gene refused to give me a reason for why he opted not to run my column, and eventually it became clear that it had to do with my political opinions not aligning with his. After he made a remark stating, once again, that's it's his dollar and he'll run the paper the way he wants to run it, I said that it was obvious that he did not want me to continue writing for the Journal. "Run your paper however you want, Gene, because I won't be writing for you anymore."

Gene Rhorer, the mayor of Ashland and the owner of the town's only news outlet said these final words before hanging up the phone. "That's fine. This was a Democratic paper before, but it's a Republican paper now. It's better this way."

When Bruce Wallace owned the paper, he frequently printed opinion pieces written by Republicans Vicky Hartzler and Josh Hawley. Since the mayor purchased the paper, Hartzler, Sarah Walsh, and other Republicans have had a great deal of coverage. In one particular issue, an opinion piece written by Hartzler appreared on the front page of the paper in the "News" section. Impartial news coverage in Southern Boone County is officially dead.

Gene Rhorer has turned the Boone County Journal into a propaganda paper for the Republican party, and I am glad to have no further interest in his efforts to ruin what was once a respected, small-town news source.

So now you know how it all happened, and I have tried to be as accurate as possible in my recollection. I'm sad that my career at the paper had to end this way, but I'm comforted by the support and words of encouragement by my many readers and friends. I'll keep writing, so I hope you'll keep reading.

Peace.

Kids These Days (Are Pretty Great)

When Kristopher saw some kids at his school making fun of a fellow student named Michael for wearing the same clothes every day, he laughed right along with the bullies. Later at home, Kristopher thought about how his actions affected Michael, and he decided to try to make things right. Joined by his friend Antwain, the pair gave Michael a sincere apology and a bag full of brand-new clothes. The act of kindness not only affected young Michael’s life, but also millions of other people when a video clip of their gesture went viral.

Kids these days.

Olivia and Emma, both still years away from being old enough to drive, don’t waste their childhood by staring at their smartphones all day. Instead, they sing and play guitar, ukulele, banjo, bass, and fiddle, and they record albums of original music and perform across the Midwest, often opening for national acts. They’re known as the Burney Sisters, and you can catch them on stage at this weekend’s Roots ‘N’ Blues ‘N’ BBQ Festival in Columbia.

Kids these days.

When 21-year-old Satchel was trapped in the hotel where he works in Beaumont, Texas, during tropical storm Imelda last week, he was the only employee in the building. For the next 32 hours, he cheerfully assisted the 90 hotel guests who were also unable to leave due to the floodwaters outside. He and a few guests even braved the elements and distributed food to truckers who were stranded in their vehicles.

Kids these days.

Less than a year after addressing the Swedish parliament in an effort to voice the concerns of her generation about the climate crisis, 16-year-old Greta sailed across the Atlantic (refusing to fly in a fossil fuel burning jet) and testified before the United States House of Representatives. She also spearheaded a global School Strike for the Climate about which she said, “The symbolism of the climate strike is that if you adults don’t give a damn about my future, I won’t either.”

Kids these days.

Around 400 University of Missouri students gathered in support of the School Climate Strike last Friday at the campus’s famous Speakers Circle. Among those in the crowd was an 18-year-old from Ashland, Missouri, named Alex. With the blessings of a supportive professor, my son skipped class to attend the event. Alex, Greta, and millions of other young people know that the ever-worsening climate crisis is very real, and they know that the corporate greed and political corruption of the older generations are responsible for it.

Kids these days.

People my age and older have a terrible habit of disparaging today’s youth. They see ridiculous and dangerous viral videos of teens doing careless things and ask. “What’s the matter with kids these days?” I answer this question by reminding them that young people have always been impulsive and reckless. The only difference is that when we were young and doing dumb things, smartphones and the internet were not around to permanently memorialize our temporary stupidity.

Before you judge “kids these days”, try walking a mile in their tiny, light-up shoes. The students at my school, ages 5-8, frequently surprise me with their ability to thrive in an increasingly scary world. You may think that today’s children are just a bunch of YouTube-addicted and entitled brats without a care in the world, but you’ve never had to look a roomful of them in their big, tear-filled eyes while having a class discussion about what to do in the event that an active shooter breaks into their school and tries to kill them.

   

Kids these days are more informed, more empathetic, more engaged, and under more emotional stress than young people were in any previous generation. I interact with my students and my three teenagers every day. I know how they think and what they think about. Today’s young people deserve much more credit than they receive for their positivity, strength, kindness, and resilience. They deserve to hear the grown-ups in their lives say, “I’m proud of you.”

Maybe the better question would be, “What’s the matter with adults these days?”