There is no question about it. Bias and prejudice often make their way into the veins of the free press. But the press has always had its own system of checks and balances enabling it to feverishly stomp out these cancerous reporting. We have seen apologies issued, reporters let go, careers brought to an abrupt end. There would be a page number, an exact paragraph, a time stamp, a video clip or voice recording that would register as misleading by the accusing party. The accused would then have to defend their thesis or issue an apology and suffer the consequence. We have always been critical of the press, we have always held them to a higher standard and purposefully expected more than they could deliver…

but then Donald happened. From the pulpit of democracy, in the capacity of president, he spoke…and his words channeled the haunting voice of Stalin…a tyrant who was found of using the expression “enemy of the people”.

There were no specifics, no exact articulate accusations against the press. Just broad demeaning statements smeared across the entire press corp. He belches to his adoring fans, “They are the most dishonest…” and then fails to make any specific reference that warrants the “most dishonest” title.

The press was no longer framed as an entity fundamental to the liberty of a nation. A machine that roped the Government to the truth. A brigade of meticulous fact checkers that hold feet to fire. Light bearers who uncover stories nobody ever knew existed. No, not to the current president of the United States. To him they are the enemy of the people, the most dishonest, the most disgusting, the most ugly.

He has used his pulpit to undress the press of its rightful glory and has begun redecorating it with all manners of sin, but none so severe as reintroducing the press as an enemy to the people.

The plot thickens.

“They are out to get me.”

This is the single most captivating idea that consumes the president. His detachment to reality is only reinforced in the echo chamber of his administration. It is somehow lost to them the fascination the press has with this president. They grapple with the notion that the press could write anything critical of this president who, by their standards, is infallible among men. They feign surprise on the medias apparent obsession to report on him . They seem ignorant of the fact that the press has never seen anything like a Donald Trump presidency. Neither has the world, for that matter. An individual who has said and done things that would have had anyone else removed from their place of employment for those same actions…but he only grows stronger and solidifies his leadership as the head of the GOP.

When the access Hollywood tape was released, Billy Bush was suspended and then fired from NBC. Please note, Billy Bush was only a by stander to the lewd talk that Donald Trump was showcasing. Billy Bush suspended, Trump goes on to become the GOP nominee without so much as a hiccup. How can the world not be fascinated by this? He seems immune to the laws that dictate our lives. When he insults world leaders, especially allies, when he indulges in name calling, when he makes up stories about who killed John F. Kennedy. When he roars at the world, yet purrs for Putin, how can we not be captivated?

The role of the press in safe guarding the liberties of nation cannot be over stated. It is no secret that repressive regimes will first uproot and demolish, these institutions. This president is hammering at this foundation, one tweet at a time.

The world is at awe.

The profound impact of such dangerous rhetoric is somehow lost on the right-leaning American voters and primarily the White house administration who have been busy putting lipstick on everything he says. But the world is watching. The world is responding. Journalists the world over are pushing back. In Finland, during the presidential visit, the streets were over taken by Finnish people who wanted to send a clear message to this president. A Finnish news paper had one of their biggest billboard write, “Mr. President welcome to the land of free press.”

Others have taken to a more comical protest like this poster t-shirt which I find absolutely fascinating

Although the “common sense award” credited in the t-shirt may be a source of humor, the implication I read are huge. This is an era in the United States where simple common sense is being challenged by the current administration. Now more than ever the press must remain vigilant. It has weathered the onslaught of billionaires desiring to dictate narratives, of politicians trying to wiggle out of questions fit for catching bears, but today the US press will stand shoulder to shoulder with journalist serving under tyrannical regimes… and eat from their plate of suffering. They have been labelled as enemies and grouped together with terrorists and traitors. Let them show, therefore, that Liberty and those that aspire Liberty have never had a better friend.