PRUETT The forgotten outrage: When press access is denied in modern democracy

With age comes wisdom. At least, that’s what I thought when I was a young journalist getting started in the business.

As a member of the Fourth Estate since 1980, maybe I’ve grown to take the First Amendment for granted. You know, that free press thing. The position our Founding Fathers took so seriously they made it the First Amendment. Not the second, third or fourth.

Do you believe the framers of this beautiful country we call home would even consider not allowing the press to be free? To have access to our elected leaders, especially in locations taxpayers’ money is used and needed?

You don’t have to read much about history to learn Thomas Jefferson didn’t always like what was written about him in newspapers. Jefferson had personal baggage that today would be splashed all over social media. But he strongly believed in a free press.

From many accounts I’ve read, Benjamin Franklin just didn’t care what was written about him in the colonies or Europe. He was going to have “a good time” no matter what anyone said.

Read about John Adams, and you’ll find out he wasn’t all that popular to some because of his stance against slavery.

Let’s skip ahead a few decades to the 1860s and talk about Abraham Lincoln. You know, the man from Springfield, Illinois, who really was a secondary candidate for the newly formed Republican Party. He surprised many by winning and taking over just in time to lead us through the Civil War.

The South loathed Lincoln. That’s no surprise. Not everyone in the North was supportive, as the war lingered. What was written about him on both sides would have led a weaker president to resign and go home.

But not Lincoln.

Jefferson, Franklin, Adams and Lincoln all have something in common. They believed in the Constitution and the First Amendment. They believed a Free Press for all, not just those they agreed with, was important to keep the public informed and those spending taxpayers’ dollars accountable.

When President Obama took issue with Fox News in 2009, and talk circulated the administration would hinder the organization from doing its job, fellow news agencies rallied to support Fox News.

The same is happening now. A select few news agencies are being targeted (not being allowed access) because they won’t back down from their beliefs and common goal of serving their readers.

Why isn’t the same outrage taking place as when journalists rallied around Fox News to make sure freedom of the press remained a cornerstone of our democracy?

We live in a great country. A country that many fought and died for. We should honor those efforts.

That includes holding all elected officials accountable. We give in and allow them to take an inch of our freedoms here, and an inch there, before long we no longer recognize the country Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, and Lincoln sacrificed so much for.

My 92-year-old father likes to say, “What happens when the party you don’t agree with gets into power? They’re OK with everything now, but it can change quickly.” He’s so right.

This isn’t a Republican thing. This isn’t a Democratic thing. This is an American thing.

We must find a way to work together for the common good. Not for one side or the other. For all!

Chris Pruett is the publisher for the Daily American Republic. He can be reached at cpruett@darnews.com.