Over the years that “Dimensions” has been published in the Jewish Times, I have received e-mail letters in response to certain columns. I have learned that readers write more often when they disagree than when they agree with the content or point of view of a particular subject. Other columnists have confirmed that negative and sometimes angry mail is “par for the course.”

Faithful readers have long ago discerned that, although I am a Liberal with a capital L, I do my best to present even-handed coverage of significant and controversial topics. And to draw on historical perspective. On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama was elected by a sweeping 365 to l73 electoral votes. From my November 7 column, “The People Yes”: “We have always prided ourselves as having the most complex mix of peoples from all over the earth. Now, we have shown the world that we can select a candidate on his abilities, his ideas, his character and his leadership, rather than the color of his skin. How far we have come from just fifty years ago when the Civil Rights Movement surged through the land.” The final half of the column gave excerpts from Carl Sandburg’s monumental poem “The People Yes” to capture the moment in history.

The October 16, 2009 column, “Climate of Anger and Hatred,” drew more negative and angry letters by far than any previous column. It centered on why President Obama has “come under a relentless barrage of attacks.” Different groups, members of Congress and media figures highly critical of Obama were cited. ( If you missed the column, it can be found on the website: www.jewishtimes-s.j.com.) The e-mails all arrived on Friday and Saturday following publication. They were from Birthers, Oath Keepers and assorted local and far-flung individuals. Apparently Jewish Times is read in Indiana as well as Somers Point. Without revealing names, here are some of the objections, observations and angry retorts I received.

Some members of the Birthers group insist that Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii. Others question the Hawaiian birth certificate as a fraud, although it has been verified by authorities in Hawaii and publicly displayed on the Internet. All Birthers question his legitimacy as a natural born citizen to be elected President of the United States. One of my letter writers declared that Obama’s father was a British subject . . . thus precluding Obama from being a “natural born citizen,” since that requires both mother and father have to be U.S. citizens. That was a new charge and, of course, revealed a lack of knowledge on the subject of how one qualifies as a natural born United States citizen. For the record: Every baby born in the United States is a natural born citizen, whatever the status of his or her parents. For example, babies born to illegal immigrants are all citizens. That’s one of the thorny problems for those who would expel the 12 million illegals. What about their children?

From 20th century history, comes the tragic story of what happened to 60,000 natural born citizens, the Nisei secondgeneration Japanese-Americans. They along with their parents, 60,000 Issei, first-generation Japanese Americans who were not citizens, were interned in detention camps during World War II. In the most egregious large-scale reversal of civil rights in our history, the Nisei were deprived of their liberty and rights. They and their parents had one week’s notice to sell their homes and farms, and be ready for evacuation with “one suitcase.” It should be noted that not a single act of sabotage was ever discovered on the West Coast or in Hawaii where one third of the population were of Japanese heritage. In l943, young Nisei men were finally allowed to enlist in the United States army to fight the Germans in Europe. They became the famous 442nd “Go For Broke” division, the most decorated combat unit in Europe, marching first in the V-E victory parade.

Letters from Oath Keepers included a cordial one that began, “greatly respect the non-inflammatory tone of your article.” Then, the writer took exception to my grouping the Oath Keepers with the militia movements. He suggested I look at their website http://oathkeepers.org/oath/ which I did. It confirmed the importance of bearing arms and not obeying possible actions of our government that could occur in the future. The examples and tone were in line with militia conspiracy theories. There were also videos and testimonials on the website that compare Obama’s America to Hitler’s Germany. Another letter in support of the Oath Keepers showed that the writer knew of the significant and effective group that fights hatred nation-wide, “Do you have something against defending the Constitution, like the Southern Poverty Law Center, a disgusting hate organization that you’ve decided to parrot?”

The most disturbing e-mail was completely in bold type: “WITH THE BLOOD THE JEW WORLD HAS ON ITS HANDS ITS LIKE THE PAN CALLING THE PAN BLACK. THE HYPOCRISY OF JEWS IS BOTTOMLESS!” I must admit I had a visceral reaction to reading the entire letter. The writer gave a name and address for a “free subscription to Insurgent News and Views Email.” There was also a request for checks, money orders or cash. “BE A WHITE PERSON AND SEND CONTRIBUTIONS TO SUPPORT THIS SERVICE.”

In closing, I was heartened to receive several positive e-mails about the column. “Well written. Organized. And the point clearly made.Thanks. Good job!” “Great column. It’s about time someone said out loud what many of us are thinking!”

Joyce S. Anderson is the author of “Courage in High Heels,” “Flaw in the Tapestry,” “If Winter Comes” and “The Mermaids Singing.” She can be reached at JSAWrite@aol.com.