Julian Assange and his supporters have been warning that his arrest would set a precedent for other journalists to be prosecuted for doing what good journalists do. We warned you that the legal fallout would allow the U.S. government to destroy the First Amendment in the name of National Security, but no one listened. Media said, “Who cares? It’s only Assange.” Now, they will suffer the consequences of their inability to support a fellow journalist.
On May 13th, just over 30 days after Assange’s arrest, San Francisco Police raided a journalist’s home who refused to give up his source. (See article here). In Australia, ABC news was raided over releasing the “Afghan Files”,( files further exposing war crimes). You can read about it here.
Today, in a tweet from Trump, he calls the New York Times traitors. (See below picture of his tweet). The question remains, will he call for the Times to be prosecuted in his war on media?
His obvious attack and his accusation of treason would be no big deal if he wasn’t the leader of the U.S. empire. I am truly scared what his war on the press will lead to. Are ordinary indie journalists like myself safe from his wrath? Why is it he can’t handle criticism?
Trump’s attacks on his opponents, the press and Democrat citizens of the U.S. are dividing a nation already hurting. It is destroying families, friends and unity. The attack on the First Amendment is an attack on the Constitution and what it stands for.
Every President receives scrutiny from the other party and the media. They know this walking in and expect it. They take it in stride because of it being part of the job. Trump takes it personally like the oversensitive child who gets told his mommy wears combat boots.
With his constant snarky comments, it should have been obvious he lacked a certain amount of maturity preelection. (His love for McDonald’s was like that of a teenager.) Yet many of us were forced to choose between Clinton and Donald. In other words, vote for what we thought was the lesser of 2 evils.
Now, the behavior of Trump is hurting the very freedom the Founding Fathers fought with their lives for. Donald is going after freedom of press by villifying journalists in an effort to silence them permanently. By doing so, he is destroying the very foundation of our country simply because he can’t handle anyone talking bad about him. He is bringing in the Orwellian state from “1984” and most are either can’t see or so sheep-like they follow him blindly.
In an article by The Nation, Dan Rather is quoted as saying:
Veteran journalist Dan Rather is not being extreme when he says that Trump’s attacks on the press are “straight out of Orwell.” The president is an “authoritarian,” Rather warns, whose “method is to convince people that the only truth is the truth that comes from [him], the ultimate power.”
There is much truth in this. I have seen memes where a Trump supporter gives him the appearance of God himself. It also frightens me to see people following him like it’s a religion. Many view him as though he’s a cult leader. Trump is neither God or anything like him. He is a man who was handed the reins and is now wallowing in his hunger to be loved.
If America is to survive and our freedom to remain intact, it is vital to keep our Constitution and the First Amendment intact. He must end his war on the press and learn to be an adult about the criticism before he and his supporters turn this country into a dictatorship.
First they came for Assange..