Illustration By Ji Ho Kim
Our democracy is in danger.
Most of us grew up with a carefully-cultivated certainty that America, land of the free and home of the brave, would always be free. We were taught the U.S. was the strongest, most advanced and most immutable nation on the planet. Maybe we are, maybe we’re not, but one thing is certain—every great society can fall to ashes. Just ask the Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Russians and English, all of whom were crippled by overreach, arrogance, complacency and a complete failure to see the barbarians at the gate.
America has barbarians at the gate, actually behind the gates of the White House. One of the first signs of a crumbling society is the crushing of dissent and takeover of its communications platforms. It is happening now in America. Journalists are under attack by politicians and police—verbally and physically—and have been relentlessly maligned by the president. Donald Trump’s neverending whining about “fake news” and his fantastical “mistreatment” by the news media seems comical, but is actually very dangerous. He has declared open season on America’s free press, encouraging his “Second Amendment folks” to do battle with the First Amendment folks, whom he calls “the enemy of the People.”
The Southwestern College Sun is a cautionary tale. This college saw first hand how the attempted destruction of its newspaper would have led to the destruction of the college itself.
Just 10 years ago this newspaper, its adviser and its staff members were abused and threatened by a malevolent administration and governing board while reporting a pay-for-play scandal and other malfeasance. Our former college president called students staff members “stupid” and “losers.” He grabbed the arm of a female reporter and shook the pen from her hand. He grabbed and physically threatened our adviser. Our professor’s house and car were repeatedly vandalized, and his life threatened. The college president made it very clear he wanted The Sun to back off.
Didn’t happen. The Sun, the faculty, college employees and the community (Republicans and Democrats alike) united to fight them off and throw them out. This newspaper changed history and kept Southwestern College from being shut down by its accreditation body.
America needs to stand up to Trump like the South County stood up to corrupt officials. Trump has been mostly unsuccessful in his efforts to weaken press freedom, but he has flamed national scorn of the news media and elevated loony conspiracy theorists on Fox, 8chann, QAnon and other propaganda sites and fever swamps. Worse, perhaps, he has encouraged and emboldened enemies of free press in other countries.
Dictators have playbooks to seed totalitarianism. They include police terror, indoctrination, propaganda and censorship.
Hitler instigated police terror in Nazi Germany through his shadowy Gestapo and SS. Black Americans are getting a taste of the Nazi treatment by police not held accountable for violating the same laws they are sworn to uphold. Police terror reigned this summer in Portland when unidentifiable “police officers” hauled off protestors in unmarked vehicles to undisclosed locations, clearly violating habeas corpus. Trump has learned from the master.
CNN reporter Omar Jimenez—who was correctly wearing his media ID—was arrested in Minneapolis, along with his photojournalist and producer during the George Floyd protests. Petite KPCC reporter Josie Huang was thrown to the ground by five LA County Sheriffs after clearly identifying herself as a journalist. CBS correspondent Katie Nielsen was arrested covering protests in Oakland. So far this year nearly 850 complaints charging violence against journalists have been filed, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. More than 200 journalists were struck or gassed by police, 63 were arrested.
Mexican journalist Anabel Hernandez speaks for us.
“I really believe good journalists can change the world,” she said. “My choice is to fight.”
So is ours.
