Free Speech

Shhh…

… something is rotten in the state of America!

 “One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution;
one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship.”
~ George Orwell, 1984

free-press-and-censorship

The truth is hard to come by.  These days, truth about current events, the state of the U.S. government and its various controversial machinations have become particularly difficult to obtain.  Throughout U.S. history the idea of a “free press” has been the corner stone of an informed public.  If we do not gain information—”truth”—through the news media, how can we ever know what is actually going on around us?

A Call for More Investigative Journalism

Traditionally, White House news briefings have provided news agencies—which is to say, us—with direct access to the President.  February 2017 exclusions of major news outlets from such a briefing as well as alleged false statements from White House press secretary Sean Spicer have caused some to wonder if investigative reporting might be the only viable means of obtaining news related to actions of the U.S. government.  A specific appeal was voiced in a recent article that appeared in truthdig.

sean-spicer(White House press secretary Sean Spicer)

The ever widening divide between the executive branch of the U.S. government and the news media has become a major problem.  Previous decades found journalists bridging this gap when the need arose.  Yet now it appears something is broken in American journalism. For fiscal reasons, many major news outlets (particularly print media) have largely curtailed the practice of news-worthy investigations that manage to bare what some might attempt to conceal. Yet given the state of media relations in the U.S., a “receptive” approach to news gathering may no longer serve the goal of maintaining an informed public.  An era of “alternative facts”  seems to cry out for a return to more vigorous, independently probative journalism despite economic constraints.

(more…)

Free Speech and Tolerance

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The “truth” or a “right” position is often not as cut and dried as we would like to believe.  What do you feel when you read something like this: “[Richard] Spencer has used his right to free speech to call for “peaceful ethnic cleansing” — presumably this entails scaring people into fleeing and/or using the legal system to forcibly purge all people of color and indigenous peoples from the United States”?  Do you—taking the position of a free speech purist or absolutist–believe this person (Spencer) has the right to speak such words in a public forum?  On the other hand, do you resonate more with a position like “Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them.” ~Mirah Curzer

Akin to a seekingGood posting regarding objectivity and neutrality, Julia Serano, author if Whipping Girl, presents a challenge to our ideas regarding free speech.

While Ms. Serano posted the original article a couple weeks ago, the response was so strong, on the 19th of Feb, she posted a follow-up.

 

Objectivity, Neutrality and Truth

Trust in “news” as well as other sources of “truth” is a developing topic here at seekingGood.  When does conviction stand in the way of objectivity, or does it? Can it be that not taking a stand endangers objectivity, rendering us complicit in a lie?  When does a habit of normalizing acquiescence result in notions of “truth” we might abhor under other circumstances?  Sound complicated?  It is. (If nuance is your cup of tea, here is a story for you).

Lewis Wallace, a former journalist for Marketplace, attempted to draw attention to these issues—and was fired.  The first video presents a brief overview of Mr. Wallace’s situation.

lewis-wallace(Photo: Facebook)

This second video presents a more in-depth description, as well as Mr. Wallace reading the blog post that created the stir.

objectivity-is-dead

We should all ponder the pitfalls of neutrality as we attempt to find Good in this new Public Space of contemporary life.  Want more on these issues of media reliability?  Explore these stories.

Jen Hofmann’s Weekly Action List

February 6th, 2017

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A featured issue on Jen Hoffman’s Weekly Action List is opposition to the Department of Education nominee Betsy deVos (Need to act immediately – Monday, Feb 6th in order to influence one more Republican vote to block the nominee).

Take a look at the list for actions you might want to take.  The page presents many diverse issue with assistance for making your voice heard. (Phone contact information and written scripts for your use are included).

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page for a collection of resources you might find helpful (including good news about situations We, the People have manage to influence).