Surely we recall that a few years back a reporter from the Wall Street Journal ended up in jail in Russia simply for attempting to relay the truth about what was happening in the Kremlin. He was accused of being a spy and sent away for months even as efforts were launched to have him released. Meanwhile back in history the editor of a newspaper in China who had the audacity to report the truth about what Mao ZeDong was doing during the finalization of the revolution there in 1949 was imprisoned and his family’s home was seized. He would live the rest of his life in a state of imprisonment and poverty just for attempting to print the truth.
This is how authoritarian nations keep strict control over what the citizenry is allowed to hear or say. They create the news often without any resemblance to the truth. Our Founding Fathers sought to prevent such a thing with the establishment of a free press in the First Amendment of the Constitution. Their intent was that citizens would be allowed to ask questions and express concerns without fears of being silenced. For the most part we have enjoyed this incredible assurance for two hundred fifty years.
We have all listened to Donald Trump’s threats and fantasies about how great his second term is going. We have watched him insulting and lunging at reporters who had the audacity to question what he is doing. He has sued media outlets and personalities for making statements that were not to his liking. Now he has banned three networks from the Oval office because he did not like the way that they were reporting the news. CNN, MSNow and Politico were somewhat randomly removed from the his press conferences because he insists that they are peddling fake news. In making his bold announcement he has assured reporters that the expulsion of these three media giants are only the beginning of his intent to rid himself of reporters that he does not like.
This flies in the face of the First Amendment and in truth does not qualify as fake news. He is the one making things up. He is telling lies hoping that his supporters will not realize the mess that he is making from his tantrums in the Oval office. He is totally out of control and seems to want only whatever he wants us to know to be reported as though it is the truth and nothing but the truth. He wants no questions, no doubts, no challenges to his iron fisted way of doing whatever he wants to do without Congress or attempts to follow the laws of the land.
This is a movement right out of every authoritarian playbook. Lie, lie and lie and convince the populace that all is well. He wants nobody to notice that his words have no clothes. He wants to define what we believe and woe be anyone who flinches and suggests that he is wrong. We are a nation created with the idea that the country belongs to the people and as such we each have the right to point out problems that we see. We were not founded on the idea that a single person or party should be able to define the truth without commentary or criticism.
Every president and representative that we have ever had endured pushback. There has been and will always be criticism and disagreements among the electorate. This is exactly as it should be. When we lose the right to hear rebuttals and to pay attention to them we bow to an authoritarian kind of government. Brutal nations like China, North Korea, and Russia have a national press that communicates only what the leaders want the citizens to know. Speaking out against the government line is a crime with dire consequences.
In the United States of America we have always depended on the idea that it would be safe to voice our own opinions, to debate even those in the highest offices in the land. We can protest and write blogs stating our personal opinions without fear of being silenced or imprisoned. We rely on a press that is not afraid to tell us what they believe to be true. We can challenge the thinking of our leaders and ask them why they are doing certain things. We have taken for granted that nobody will demand that we walk in lockstep.
Not even those who founded this nation agreed with one another. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had fiery discussions that demonstrated their differences. For a time they did not even speak with one another but over time they came to honor one another without insisting that either of them change their wa of thinking about how our government should be. They both understood the importance of allowing each citizen the right to have different beliefs.
Little by little far too many people rely on a single media outlet that provides a single point of view all day long. They refuse to even consider ideas that are contrary to their own. We need all of the voices and we should also be willing to hear what they have to say. We should be confident that we can disagree with impunity and that we can seek the truth with hard questions. Our freedom of speech and the press is perhaps the most important rite that we have as citizens and it is up to all of us to protect it no matter who may be threatening it. Thankfully it appears that other news outlets will no longer participate in the president’s press conferences. This is the kind of bold and rightful step that we have needed to see. I applaud them for doing the right thing.
