While doing some research on tonight’s story about the Prime Minister of Albania causing a stir over remarks about Kosovo, I came across a letter to the editor of the New York Times Op/Ed page, published in the November 25, 1987 edition of the newspaper.

The letter was in response to an earlier article with which the letter’s author, Donald Leka, took issue with an earlier piece published on November 10th, 1987 which he felt erroneously represented the true situation involving ethnic Albanians in the Kosovo region of then-Yugoslavia.  This is a time period, well-within the lives of many reading this, where the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia still existed and dominated daily news headlines.  Where the shadow of Josep Broz Tito still cast itself upon an increasingly-fracturing collection of Southern Slavs.  The Berlin Wall had not fallen.  Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States.  All of this was the subject regular, day-to-day conversation.

And the subject matter of the letter, as well as the article to which it was written in reply, is frighteningly relevant to the geopolitical world of today.

[….]

This letter predates any concept of online social media.  There was no immediate gratification or response to Mr. Leka; and any response that may have followed would have taken place perhaps a couple of weeks following the publication of his letter.

While there is an unquestionable advantage in communication with the ability to instantly read, reply or speak with another person anywhere around the world almost instantaneously; there is also something that has been lost in the eloquence of the English language, and how one carries themselves in a thoughtful conversation. […]

Technology and social media has changed the way that people communicate; but a nice look back at the art of communication of days gone by remains a treat for many out there, myself included.

Now is the part where I ask all of you reading to please like, share, hashtag, upvote, leave a comment or an emoticon denoting a reaction; all while shamelessly aware of my hypocrisy in the face of everything I just wrote.  I can live with it.

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Dielli online is posting the majority of the author’s response