Last week I posted the following words on a social media site — and you’d have thought I’d poked an angry dog with a hot stick.
First Amendment: “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.”
No other comment or context, simply a word-for-word posting of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
And apparently there are a lot of angry dogs out there.
Of all the amendments, the First Amendment broadly lays out a vision of the then-new nation — one encouraging people to speak openly, protecting a free press to report on government, allowing people to observe — or not observe — the religion of their choice, protecting the freedom to assemble, and guaranteeing citizens the right to take exception with the actions of their government.
If you were making a greatest-hits list of how to build a new nation of free people, you could do much worse.
But today, we as a people are again debating the boundaries of those freedoms — including the government's relationship with the press. And while I could discuss any of these topics with passion, one stands particularly close to me.
As someone who has invested decades fighting for governmental transparency on behalf of my friends and neighbors, I am incredibly passionate about a free press as an integral element of our nation.
The test of whether we believe in a free press isn't whether we like what it reports. It's whether we defend its right to report when we don't.
To say Americans have enjoyed a kumbaya relationship with their press is a fairy tale. Thomas Jefferson, one of our nation’s founders, found himself praising the necessity of a free press — and on another day, frustrated beyond his temperament by what newspapers published. He said liberty depended upon press freedom, yet later complained that newspaper reporting made even truth seem suspicious.
That tension is nothing new. But Jefferson also understood something fundamental: Government should not get to decide which criticisms of government are acceptable.
News flash: The activities of the U.S. government are the people’s business. Attempts to chill or intimidate a free press should concern us regardless of who occupies the White House, governor's mansion, mayor's office or school board seat. All elected officials began as ordinary citizens before stepping forward to serve in elected office. In doing so, they did not magically evolve into all-knowing beings with the authority to make decisions over the people without scrutiny.
This is the people’s government — just as the White House is the people’s house. So are the halls of Congress, our statehouses, local city councils and school boards. Any time someone in government attempts to infringe upon the freedom of the press to report on its activities, every American citizen should raise an eyebrow.
Government exists to serve the citizenry, and a free press is one of the ways citizens keep watch over those entrusted with power.
Not all press organizations are the same — and that is not a bad thing. Everyone has an opinion, just as we each have a nose. Certain press organizations may see the world from different points of view. Readers should question them, challenge them and hold them accountable when they get things wrong. Freedom of the press does not mean freedom from criticism. But criticism of the press and government interference with the press are two very different things. That distinction matters. Because ultimately, a free press isn't primarily about protecting newspapers, television networks, websites or journalists. It is about protecting the public's ability to know what its government is doing.
The First Amendment doesn't belong to the press. It belongs to all of us.
This item originally ran at https://www.newspapers.org/stories/first-amendment-belongs-to-all-of-us,4167192.
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