“When the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe.” Thomas Jefferson - 1799
Long before becoming president, Donald Trump had shown a penchant for dismissing news articles he didn’t like as nothing more than fiction.
But the moment he took the oath of office, that penchant became something more dangerous. The constant cries of “fake news!” are heard in every corner of the country and by every newsroom staffer at newspapers both large and small, urban and rural. The more our president talks about coverage he doesn’t like as mere fiction, the more he emboldens further attacks on newspapers and journalists all over the world, many of whom risk their lives to inform the public. That risk becomes ever greater every time our president separates the press from the public and points to them as the “enemy of the people.”
Today, we join newspapers across the country in heeding the call from the Boston Globe to denounce such attacks on the free press.
Please don’t misunderstand – this is not a stand against, or for, President Trump. It is a call for civility and understanding that the press is not trying to undermine or discredit our president – he is OUR president, after all. Regardless of how you personally feel about Trump, whether or not you voted for him or what your political ideology is, Trump is our president. And because we all want to succeed and want our nation to be successful, we should want him to be as successful as possible while in the White House.
But supporting the president and wanting our nation to succeed does not mean ignoring problems or blindly following leaders. It means asking critical questions and trying to solve problems or issues – you can’t do that if you won’t first acknowledge there is one.
Debate is healthy.
Compromise is the key to balance and one of the most important aspects of governing.
But we have to be willing to hear things that challenge our preconceptions.
“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freedom of speech.” Benjamin Franklin - 1722