Our free press must be preserved

To the editor,

I am responding to the Thursday, Jan.18, 2018, letter to the editor from Ms. Brenda Fennig (Trump editorial was based on bias).

Ms. Fennig began by asking of Mr. Ronald about unbiased journalism, like he is the only one with a bias.

Let me ask her, do you get your news from Fox News?

They admittedly are an entertainment network, which poses as a news source, as well as are admittedly supporters of conservatives. That makes what they say, over the airwaves, a very biased slant of “journalism.” I am not picking on Fox News, as Breitbart is another extremely conservative news airer, as are several extremely conservative print sources.

There are more liberal-leaning sources, like MSNBC, the Huffington Post, The Nation and others.

There are some rather centrist sources, although they may not seem so to those who believe that anything that doesn't praise the current resident of the White House as “fake news.”

Our current president claims to be rebuilding America. This is a matter of perspective, of which there are many perspectives.

Some see what is being done as rebuilding a broken America. Others view what he is doing is tearing down what was a country in a positively functioning state.

I'm not saying what had been was perfect, but it was progressing just fine, with diminishing unemployment and a growing economy, which the present president is claiming as his doing.

The removal of regulations may prove to be disastrous for the country, as well as the world. Time will tell about such moves.

There is a huge rift in America, between the people. It began to grow exponentially during the last administration, because of the election of an African-American as president. The leaders of the Republican Party immediately began planning on shutting down the movement of government the day after his election. That appeared racially motivated. 

Some say that they have no problems with black/white relations. What about the browns, yellows and reds in America, or don't they count as Americans?

The president has supposedly made an expletive-filled remark about several countries, as well as an entire continent, and their economic standing and the quality of their citizens. I guess this doesn't infer racial sentiments, especially when it is followed by his preference of the primarily white country where he'd like migrants to come from. Fortunately, for that country, they are one of the happiest countries in the world, and do not desire migrating to America, because they like the form of socialism that their country successfully offers them. They love their lives, which ranks much higher than that of America.

Those that do not follow this president are labeled Marxists/communists. There may be a slight leaning on both sides. I would not consider what those on the left seek fits that label. There may be some socialist leanings, but not communist. Unions were, one time, considered communist, but the very workday that you grew up enjoying, as well as financial benefits, are things that the unions brought this country. There were many regulations, which were on the job protections, which you enjoy, that were because of labor unions. Without those fine things, you would have no health insurance, or overtime for the hours you put in over the 40-hour work week for which the labor unions fought. You could tell your employer that you want to return to the wonderful conditions that Ebenezer Scrooge gave to Cratchit and his other employees. That was how the employer benefitted people in the past. It was expensive to heat the factory, let alone furnish lighting, or anything for your safety. If you got injured, or died, so what? You were replaced, and would go beg for your income.

The desire to shut down, or muzzle the press is the move of a dictator, a tyrant. The suppression of opposing views is dictatorial. It seems as though Hitler, Stalin, Fidel Castro and Kim Jong Un did/do that, among others. We fought those dictators, to end their oppression.

A free press is in the Constitution, so we must strive for just that.

Daniel E. Chase

Portland