Warning.

What you are about to read may shock you.

Prepare yourself.

Here it comes.

The State News Opinion Page is full of biased propaganda.

“No,” you say. “How can this be?”

Sorry to disappoint you. But that is the truth.

I deeply regret I was the one who had to inform everyone about this seemingly horrible situation. But, I promise, it will be OK.

I would have thought the giant type at the top of this page that reads - if you look now you are cheating - “Opinion” gave away its potential for biased content.

But judging from the gobs of e-mail I have received after publishing past columns and the numerous letters to the editor that have run lately, it seems a few people haven’t been clued in on that notion.

It seems these unfortunate souls expect to find some well-balanced reporting on page 4A of The State News.

My friends, if that’s what you want, read what is on the news, sports and entertainment pages. In those sections you can find articles that offer multiple points of view from various sources while the authors leave out their own feelings.

But on the Opinion Page, we don’t have no stinkin’ articles. We publish columns and editorials within the borders of this page, and that’s a pretty cool thing.

You see, way back before we were all born, a bunch of rich white guys got together in Philadelphia to brainstorm various rules and regulations for a newly formed government.

You may remember it as the Constitutional Convention from your U.S. history books.

It was during these meetings that our beloved Bill of Rights was created. For those who don’t know, it’s the document that stands as the supreme principle of U.S. law.

The First Amendment to that bill reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Sound familiar?

If you’ve made it far enough in your life to be accepted at a major research university, I would hope so.

“What does that long quote have to do with The State News Opinion Page,” you say.

Well, I’m glad you asked.

It has to do with that whole free speech, free press portion of the amendment.

The Opinion Page of a newspaper is the embodiment of that concept.

This page serves as a marketplace for an exchange of ideas.

In this marketplace, individuals are able to bend ideas in hopes of molding them into arguments and, perhaps, persuading others to ally with their beliefs.

It is in this marketplace that we all have a voice in shaping our society.

It’s on this page we offer our thoughts on politics and other topics in hopes they may aid in the betterment of our community as a whole.

On the Opinion Page we can give our take on legislative proposals, minority issues, injustices and other topics that ignite the flames of passion within our hearts.

Sure, maybe I am being a little overly idealistic here, but that is the whole point.

On the Opinion Page, we are able to exercise the God-given American freedoms we hold so dear to our hearts.

Through this exchange of dialogue we help stir the direction of our society to the future while marking our place in the present and leaving a document for the past.

In the United States, we are lucky our government recognizes the right of the people to freely voice their opinions.

It’s a freedom that unimaginable numbers of people have died to protect throughout our country’s history.

You don’t have to like what I say or write. I don’t have to like what you say or write.

And neither one of us has to agree with what the other says or writes.

You don’t have to listen.

And you don’t have to read.

Neither do I.

But we both have a right to say and write what we want so long as it isn’t obscene and doesn’t provoke violence or hinder national security, according to the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First Amendment, it’s OK.

So, don’t be horrified by the biased nature of this page. It’s a beautiful thing. It’s the American dream.

Do not be upset. It’s OK to publish biased opinions in addition to unbiased news.

With all that said, if you are going to e-mail me, don’t tell me to be less biased.

Your e-mails are not unbiased and I don’t ask you to stop sending them.

And don’t complain about the unbiased nature of the Opinion Page via letters to the editor.

Your letters aren’t unbiased. And I don’t complain about them - much.

A few semesters ago, we had State News staff T-shirts made that read “Liberal propaganda since 1909.”

This newspaper has served as an outlet for the MSU community to practice its inalienable rights for nearly a century.

Our editorials, columns and letters continue to provide freedom to this day.

I’m proud of that.

And you should be too.

Matt Treadwell is the State News opinion writer. Reach him at treadwe7@msu.edu.