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I’ve known that an honest free press was critical to the survival of free people since I took high school Civics. For the majority of my life I was secure in the belief that the USA had a functioning, mostly honest, free press. For at least the last 15 years, I no longer think that is true. Many of our government’s recent transgressions would not have happened had the press/media (PM) been doing their job. The threat of the existence of an honest and diligent press would have been enough to deter unethical, even criminal, behavior. At the very least, the transgressors would have been identified, perhaps even punished for their wrong-doing.

Our Founding Fathers were clear from the very beginning that our form of government would only function so long as the citizenry remained informed and engaged. How is the average American to be informed if not through the PM? While its origin is debated, many credit Mark Twain for the quote: “If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed.” The press was given special protections in the 1st Amendment because the Founders knew that, if left unattended, politicians would lie and the government would overreach its constitutional boundaries. They understood that one way to keep that from happening was to name a watchdog to protect the people from those eventualities. That watchdog was the press. We understand that the PM is fallible. That they make mistakes is excusable. That they don’t do the investigative work necessary to discern the truth is not. That they simply regurgitate and defend the stated policies of the PL, without any due diligence, is simply inexcusable, perhaps fraudulent. It threatens the very future of our great nation.

Given the utter failure of the Biden administration, it is nearly impossible to imagine he maintains around a 40% approval rating with Americans. Now 40% is awful, but it ought to be closer to 20%. Nearly every one of his important policy decisions are diametrically opposed to what the majority of the people want. The only credible explanation is that a large portion of that 40% are getting all of their information from the left wing PM. The constitutionally appointed watchdog has morphed into a pathetic lapdog. One would be accurate to say they are the marketing arm of the Democratic Party.

This was made clear to me during recent discussions I have had with liberal friends. They are adamant that those who get their information from FOX News are being lied to and brainwashed. They used the following criteria as proof. They point out that FOX was the only news organization reporting on the failings of this administration. (I said thank God someone is). Then they proudly declared that there were dozens of news organizations who were not reporting any of these problems. I began to understand why there are so many people who are still in Biden’s camp when I ask a couple of questions. I asked if they were aware that over 2 million people have entered this country illegally since Biden took office. (I know the number is actually closer to 3 million). They typically chuckle and call it FOX News propaganda. Their proof source is that our leaders continue to insist the border is closed and otherwise under control. They are adamant that the bad guys in the border crisis are the Governors who are heartlessly shipping illegals to sanctuary cities. Their proof was that they had seen the same report on multiple network news stations. I repeated an old saw: Because the majority of people believe a lie is true, doesn’t make it true. I asked if they had any idea how many Americans have died from opioid overdoses during the last year. Their eyes glazed over. That leads me to believe they have no idea. How could they? Their preferred news sources refuse to cover this issue. When I asked why they thought our President hadn’t had a single press conference to explain what his administration is doing to stop this carnage, I got no response. If people are getting their information from the mainstream media they are provably ignorant. Ignorance can be cured. I suggested they go to their computers and research the number of people who have died from opioid overdoses over the last year. Find out how many illegals have entered our country since Biden took office. Some won’t do it. Many will.

The reason for the last paragraph is to point out the dilemma we face in our country. I can think of no way for the American people to succeed in forcing the PM to change its way and return to the days of reporting the news and to stop editorializing. So we must go about informing our fellow citizens ourselves. We have to stop being afraid to engage our friends in discussions about what is happening in our country. To do so we must be sure we have the correct information and be prepared to disseminate that info, and its source. Challenge them to do their own homework. Be prepared to share the titles of articles that prove your point of view. Do not be frightened to stand up for the future of your country and your children and grandchildren. Most of these people agree there should be a limit as to how many people to allow into our country. They agree there should be a limit as to how late in a pregnancy a child may be aborted. They are hurting from inflation, high food, and energy prices. They would agree that we must stop the opioid crisis. If only they knew the above problems exist, and who to blame. That is our challenge. We simply must not shirk from this responsibility. With the critical midterm elections just 40 days ahead, it is time to take action.

Thank you for taking the time to read my writings. Please share this with your patriotic friends, regardless of their political persuasions. We must do our best to preserve our nation for future generations. Bob