Thank goodness for the free press

Thank goodness for the free press! I am so grateful to our founding fathers for their vision to include the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights, guaranteeing freedom of the press. If this provision hadn’t been added to the Constitution, today we certainly would be in the dark and in a sorry state with the misconducts coming out of this White House and administration. Our founding fathers understood that those in power might be tempted to abuse those powers to their own advantage.

Our free press allows us to oppose our government without fear of retribution. Journalists, editors, television and radio hosts, et al., can have their say to question, argue, contest and differ with those in power.

Our government is not one of Donald Trump’s businesses, and he is not the CEO. He does not have final say, the Constitution does. He is our elected official and he works for us. Our country is not his empire.

News is leaking to the press like a sieve, and those leaks are providing us with a more transparent view of the actions of our government. Three cheers! We’re still here; we’re reading, watching, listening and paying attention.

This story was originally published June 28, 2017 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Thank goodness for the free press."