Freedom From The Press

At the outset of our republic a free press was deemed critical to the exploration of the truth and as a protection against a tyrannical government. Thomas Jefferson described the free press and its relationship to the establishment of this country as; “No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and truth. Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all the avenues to truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is the freedom of the press.”

The concept that the public would view the press as a biased organ of government, or a tool of one political party, is nobody’s idea of a “free” press or media.

In a Gallup poll released in March respondents were asked to express their level of trust in the press to report "fully, accurately and fairly." For the purposes of the survey the press included, television, newspapers, and radio. The results are not surprising to anyone whose mind and eyes are open.

13% of respondents trust the press a “great deal” and 28% “a fair amount”. From these numbers Gallup deduced that the American people’s trust, while not at an all-time low, is in truth not good. 69% of Americans have little to no trust in the press, and with good reason. Nothing could better illustrate the problem of the press’ image than how the poll numbers skew based on party identity. In a breakdown of results by party affiliation Gallup determined, 69% of Democrats, 15% of Republicans, and 36% of independents trust the press.

Why do Democrats trust the press by such a strong majority, while both Independents and Republicans trust it so much less? The answer is both simple and obvious. The press reflects the Left’s values and perspectives relentlessly. Having said that, even 31% of Democrats don’t trust the press on a level they would describe as a “great deal”. A press is biased when even nearly a third of its most ardent supporters do not trust them to report “fully, accurately and fairly.”

The best example of the press’ untrustworthiness is exemplified in how it views freedom itself. You would think that an industry whose right to act freely is secured by the First Amendment to the constitution would act out of a sense of responsibility and obligation to that freedom. Some in the press have expressed the view that Americans suffer from some sort of freedom- obsession. How ironic is it that any member of a vocation which enjoys the preeminent constitutional protection to suggest that Americans are obsessed with the freedoms that guarantee their right to do their job?

MSNBC's Anand Giridharada argued that Americans are "freedom-obsessed". He said, "Being freedom-obsessed to the point where we’re always so afraid of the government coming for us, that we’re blind to other types of threats — whether it’s a virus, whether it’s bank malfeasance, climate change, what have you."

In saying this, Giridharadas gives us an insight into the types of “crisis” he believes should curtail our freedoms. Giridharadas is suggesting that these pandemic restrictions are a dress rehearsal for similar policies in the future relating to issues such as climate change.

In making a statement that some Americans consider to be outrageous there was no firestorm within the press demanding a retraction. If silence equals agreement, it's clear the press agrees with Giridharadas’ premise. A press that believes Americans are ‘freedom obsessed’ is unlikely to challenge the policies of any government or political party. Furthermore, they are potentially not curious enough to inquire when, or if, those entities are acting outside of their constitutional boundaries.

We now have a partisan press that is advocating for restrictions on freedoms and justifying these oppressive restraints due to a crisis or circumstances that aligns with their political views. This is accomplished by avoiding any obedience to the principles of seeking the truth and acting as a restraint on governmental overreach.

As of this moment the Chinese Coronavirus is leading governors of blue states such as New York, Michigan, California, and Washington to restrict the freedoms of their citizens. In response, the “mainstream media” is silent. Traditional American liberties are under assault and the press avoids its responsibility to seek the truth.

COVID-19 is an illness that Democrat governors such as Jay Inslee of Washington use as a pretense for repressive actions. As with everything liberal-progressive, the mainstream media is silent on the matter. That silence is predicated on the fact they are politically aligned with Governor Inslee and other liberal rule makers. That alignment of viewpoints leads them to ignore the negative implications of these policies and restrictions.

It isn’t necessary for the mainstream media to confirm these infringements, that is a role for the courts. For a press to be free they must recognize these restrictions can be viewed as such, and so should investigate whether they constitute governmental excess.

The outcome of a vigorous investigation into whether some or all these restrictions are actual violations of civil liberties is secondary to the search for the truth itself. A free press, or media, would never consider avoiding that search because its outcome might not dovetail with their political perspective.

A press that is not free to search for the truth would ignore the question altogether and in so doing express their bias without pretense. Whether the mainstream media believe otherwise or not, we are free. The press is now rightly viewed by a strong majority of Americans as a tool of the Left, not as seekers of the truth. Their blatant bias is obvious to everyone, but themselves.

Since we don’t have a free press, It's time to seek freedom from the press.