I noticed that even after I offered a position to write at the Iowa State Daily to any and all who wanted to write at the opinion desk and could actually do so, there were still some grumblings. The reasons for the gripes and complaints vary. One thing does not vary, though: If you are telling someone how they are doing it wrong, you are asserting you know how to do it better.

Consider this your personal e-mail. You are cordially invited to column battle myself, or anyone on the opinion desk staff. Write in to [email protected] and put “Column Battle” in the subject. Lead out with your best writing. You can defend a viewpoint or aggress against another; it’s up to you. Know that the kid gloves will be coming off, though. If you write a poorly written column, I’m going to smash it; then again, maybe what you write will be so good I’ll have no choice but to get smashed.

What you have to understand is that it’s good for me either way because it’s all community response. If you write in and get smashed, the opinion desk looks better and by extension I look better. If you write in so strongly that I cannot muster a defense that doesn’t get smashed, then we’ve got smart people writing in and it’s still a good thing.

This is it, your signed, sealed and delivered invitation to duke it out with the opinion desk. No more “I could do it better,” or “It’s just the Daily.” Let’s battle: no ifs, ands or buts.

There’s an old adage that’s coming to mind. It goes something like, “If you can’t run with the big dogs, then stay under the porch.”

How do you know if you can hang if you never test yourself?