NewsBeat

December 2016 NewsBeat 5 administration. And Steve Bannon, chairman of the alt-right Breitbart News, was named chief strategist on Sunday. "We're facing a moment that threatens equal protection, due process, free expression, democracy — not just press freedom," wrote Brian Beutler in the New Republic. "It's not a drill." What can positive action look like? The American Civil Liberties Union moved quickly to dominate its website with a Trump photo and the words "See you in court," with a prominent "donate" widget. Others urged an intensive awareness campaign for citizens. "Our only hope is to devote our efforts to educating the public as to why independent press coverage is important to them (not us)," said Mickey Osterreicher, a lawyer who represents the National Press Photographers Association. Americans should be confronted, he said, with whether they "really want a state- controlled Ministry of Information under the thinly veiled guise of a Pravda-like press." Indeed, in countries where the government controls the press, and which lack other speech protections, journalists are jailed, even killed, as they try to do their work. Citizens are afraid to express their views publicly or to assemble. Until now, the United States has been a beacon for them. "The voice, power and influence of the United States has been a boon to the men and women reporting from the front lines of wars and the back streets of autocracies," wrote Alex Howard of the Sunlight Foundation, a free-speech organization. Isn't it pointless to fight back? Antonio Gramsci, the Italian political writer jailed by Mussolini's Fascist regime, believed in "pessimism of the intellect and optimism of the will." In other words, you can know your clapboard house is on fire, and you're a long way from civilization. But you have to call 911, get out your garden hose and bucket, and keep acting as if the firetrucks are on the way. Although things didn't work out too well for Gramsci, who died at 46 shortly after he was released from prison, his formula offers a path forward. Look the situation in the eye; know how bad it is. That's the pessimism of the intellect. As for the optimism-of-the-will part? For journalists, it's writing and reporting aggressively and fearlessly, and being willing to fight for access. For citizens, it's being well-informed, including subscribing to newspapers and supporting the best journalism. It's helping to debunk and call out fake news. It's donating to, or getting involved with, civil rights and media rights organizations. And it's backing public officials committed to protecting free expression. Americans certainly shouldn't move to Canada, but they should heed the words of the Canadian songwriter Joni Mitchell: "Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got till it's gone?" We've still got our precious First Amendment rights. Now it's time — high time — to protect them from the fire. — Reprinted from The Washington Paost Trump, center, slong with his wife, Melania, stops to talk to reporters after meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), right. — Photo Credit: Bill O'Leary; The Washinton Post

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