Editorial voices from elsewhere
Editorial voices from newspapers around the United States:
A free and fearless press is essential to preserving our liberties. This is especially true in the face of an increasingly powerful government, with unprecedented technology at its disposal for spying on and punishing its political enemies.
The Founders knew that information and opinion are essential to freedom and justice, and placed the citizens’ right to a free press first in the list of amendments to the Constitution.
It is deeply troubling, then, to see politicians increasingly brand journalists as opponents or the enemy, rather than as a vital part of the system. Too many elected officials exhibit disrespect for our free institutions. Some even want to use the government’s prosecutorial or taxing powers to stifle dissent about matters of public policy.
Recently, Steve Bannon, an influential political aide to Donald Trump, unleashed a disgusting diatribe against The New York Times and many in the media. Bannon argued that members of America’s free press had called the 2016 election wrong and had slanted their coverage against Trump.
In comments several days earlier, Trump said he was in a “running war” with the media and called journalists “among the most dishonest people on earth.”
Members of the media should strive to be fair to all sides, including Trump, in their reporting. But they must not be silent. They must report verified facts fearlessly so that citizens are fully informed, particularly when someone with no experience in politics and a fondness for authoritarian ideas assumes a powerful office.
The political strategy of the Trump administration is obvious. Its noisy attacks on the press are designed to sow doubt in the minds of Americans about any reporting that might reflect poorly on the president or arouse opposition. To the extent the media fail to report fully and fairly about his administration, they will be playing into his hands.
The money and power going into partisan propaganda on all sides these days threaten to overwhelm the public’s ability to obtain accurate, verified facts. In these perilous times, our Founders’ vision seems wiser than ever: liberty cannot be sustained without our free press.
President Donald Trump issued two executive orders on Jan. 27, his seventh day in office.
The one on immigration stole the front page headlines across the nation. The other, on the rebuilding of the U.S. armed forces, was relegated to the back pages or the end of TV broadcasts, if it was mentioned at all.
What a shame.
Trump’s military order is one everyone should be praising. It directs Secretary of Defense James Mattis to conduct a 30-day review of the readiness of the armed forces.
The goal is to assess the military’s ability to fight ISIS and other forms of radical Islamic terrorism.
One thing Trump’s made clear: For too long the United States has neglected the state of military readiness in favor of other priorities. Now is the time for that to end.
We believe the need is so critical that the failure to succeed is not a viable option.
Black History Month is a great way to celebrate the achievements of black Americans while also learning more about those same difference makers throughout our nation’s history.
Black History Month grew out of historian Carter G. Woodson’s Negro History Week, which he saw as a chance to shine a spotlight on important contributions made by black people in every field.
President Gerald R. Ford first recognized the entire month as a national observance in 1976. Since then, it has grown into an important annual event.
It is not, as its detractors sometimes claim, aimed at excluding white people from the conversation.
We are reminded far too often of the issues and events that continue to divide us. But focusing on positive achievements and historical accuracy is not divisive. It is simply a nod to facts and people who were there all along but had been omitted.
Our society has made great strides toward equality. But much work remains.