Happy Memorial Day. If we forget what we fought for, or those that died to secure that... we are doomed to repeat it. Explore the real American history and heed the lessons we have already learned - the hard way. Tyranny and oppression are what we fled to this country from and why we liberated this country from English rule.
We wanted to rule ourselves with respect and freedom top of mind, we wanted to be sure that we were prepared to defend ourselves and fight against tyranny if it raised it ugly head again. We wanted the freedom to talk and debate without censorship so we could learn others viewpoints and broaden our own. We can agree to disagree and still be friends - that is the beauty of freedom and the core of America. We can serve our God or not as we choose. We can build business and have no ceiling to our success and potential. The best education opportunities in the world that attracted the best and brightest, drawing people to this country to work and thrive and contribute to this nation and its citizens. This is what those we have lost fought for.
I have watched this country slip backwards for decades now and we don’t even care to acknowledge it. But some of us do.
You cannot ban guns and stop evil, but you can have true objective journalism and expose to the world and hold accountable those that would try to destroy what we value. Without true journalism there can be no check on the evil out there; there Is no source of truth. Anything can be spun or crafted. Journalist were always the highest level of objectivity and truth, and we have killed them off. Now we don’t believe anything or believe everything we are told because we don’t even know how to fact check or have the time to try. This was the job of the journalist. This is why they were authority, to bring to light truth and facts that other have tried to obscure. We have done this; we have allowed this.
Now we are puppets to others’ agendas bending and blowing which ever way we are told. If you are going to fight anything in this county, fight for journalism to come back. Nonprofit, objective, truth seeking, all exposing journalism.
Today I am sad over the death of journalism. I feel that the true journalist should also be considered those who serve this country. I remember those people who valued truth over all else: job security or pressures from editors to rush a story to publish or advertisers who don’t align with the story about to break or fear of incarceration or fear of death to report front line fighting. I’m sad that we have allowed this situation to happen and now we don’t know who to trust. It makes it easy to manipulate us through fear when you don’t have a source of truth that we all can trust. Objective journalism transcends politics. News should have no slant or perspective. News should keep the knowledge playing field level no matter where you live or what your religious or political views are.
One journalist who died in this country, WH “Bill” Mason, has the following quote on his gravestone: "He had the nerve to tell the truth for a lot of little people."
Journalist were the ones that gave up their own rights in order to stay unbiased like Jamie Dupree who has given up his right to vote in order to truly be objective. I wanted to be a journalist because of my own value of truth and the bravery it took to ask hard questions and put yourself in harms way to uncover the truth.
