Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Over the last six years, American politics has undergone a transformation unlike anything we have seen in the modern era. To put this into context, consider that for over 240 years, America has been able to sustain its political designation as the world’s foremost democracy. Through a Civil War, two World Wars, the Cold War and too many lesser wars in-between, this nation has been able to maintain the illusion of democracy — a beacon, a dream of freedom worth risking life and limb to attain. At the age of five years old, Americans begin to pledge allegiance to the flag — to salute the red, white and blue and recite our obedience and with it our solemn vow to uphold principles of being one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

That is of course until January 6, 2021 when we saw that very same flag — the one we have seen planted on the moon and on fields of battle — used as a weapon to break into the Capitol building as an attempt to overthrow the very government and country, citizens swore to protect.

As the Capitol was engulfed in a plume of smoke, being defaced by a group of white domestic terrorists that were weaponized by their Commander in Chief, the eyes of the countless journalists dispatched to cover one of America’s darkest days since the the Civil War revealed the absolute horror millions of Americans felt that day. We knew, as we were watching this siege unfold, that history was indeed in the making. It would be the responsibility of the “Fourth Estate” to place into words the utter mayhem and disgrace that besieged our Capitol.

Since the beginning of this nation, a free and unencumbered press has been essential to holding elected officials accountable for their actions and keeping the citizenry informed. A free press is the essential marker and distinction that separates the world’s democracies from dictatorships and authoritarian regimes.

And yet, over the course of the last six years, not only have we watched our nation grapple with a global pandemic, whose catastrophic grip could have been avoided, and a racial uprising; but we have also witnessed one of the country’s major political parties profess their allegiance not to the flag or the nation, but instead a man. If America were any other country, the free press would be unrelenting in its coverage of a nation on the brink. Particularly when for the first time in its history the International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy report labeled the United States a “backsliding democracy.” Many knew the direction that this country would head towards when the Republican Party anointed Donald J. Trump as its leader, a man known all too well for his greed, his racism, and his lies–however, what makes “good TV” as it turns out, doesn’t translate to making good government or a secure democracy.

“While journalism plays various roles in society, perhaps its most important is how it serves as a bridge of information from the government to the common citizen,” wrote Nathan Tosando in the UT Daily Beacon. This bridge however is now under assault. Donald J. Trump became president in large part because of the willful ignorance of the free press to the danger he presented to the republic. While media outlets clamored for clicks, the advent of showcasing “both sides” became their hallmark for providing a microphone and ink to one of the most egregious political figures (and his party of sycophants) this country has ever seen.

While the forefathers of this nation had keen insight into the hearts of men (they didn’t care too much for the thoughts of women), nothing could have prepared them for this — except the assumption that a free press would bring to the people what it had since the beginning of time — the truth. Sadly, there is nothing truly free about a press that has fallen to privatization and capitalism. Why let the truth get in the way of a good click?

We bore witness as the revolving door at the Trump White House as it dumped its many prevaricators on the doorsteps of once reputable outlets, all in their faux quest for the appearance of neutrality while giving voice and credence to the rhetoric that is hellbent on destroying everything the forefathers imagined, including and most importantly a free and informative press.

If not for the press, Senator Joe McCarthy’s desire to purge un-Americans would have succeeded, Nixon’s treachery wouldn’t have been revealed, and so on. Yet now we find ourselves at a crossroads. As media outlets are being purchased like pieces on a monopoly board by right-wing extremists who are using the veil of neutrality to place bad actors in positions of power, providing them with the platform to lie to tens of millions–the ability to suss out the truth is becoming almost impossible for the average citizen. The time for neutrality has long since passed.

It should have ended the day Donald J. Trump bragged about sexual assault and referred to Mexicans as rapists. Now, here we are with a former twice impeached ex-president with classified nuclear documents scattered on his Mar-a-Lago office floor eyeing a potential run for the presidency in 2024, with the press ready to launch America into authoritarianism. If the Fourth Estate doesn’t wake up soon, his inauguration in January 2025 may be the last story they write.

“Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air.” — Henry Grunwald, former editor in chief of Time Magazine.