OPINION:
Love breeds love. Hate breeds hate. Never before are these maxims more apparent than today. This nation is in distress because of an unprecedented level of hatred bordering on paranoia toward a sitting president. No longer is a president evaluated by his accomplishments, but by his manner of speech. This hatred is manifested in many ways, something our Founding Fathers never envisioned.
The pillars of our society are under attack. Free speech, especially in universities, is no longer the rule, but the exception. Political partisanship is rampant. Open dialogue with someone of a different opinion has become contentious, often resulting in broken friendships.
Today a “free press” seems to be an oxymoron. Most of the mainstream news media has abdicated its responsibility as a neutral provider of information. The line has become blurred between the historical role of a journalist and a news outlet’s editorial voice. Too many reporters reflect their own opinion in reporting events and decide what should and should not be included in a report, regardless of its importance to understanding all aspects of a situation. Is this why President Trump refers to the news media as “fake news” and more ominously, as an enemy of the people? To paraphrase a famous Thomas Jefferson admonition: A democracy is finished when the citizenry becomes misinformed or uninformed.
WARREN MANISON
Potomac
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