. 17-23, 2018
E d it o r ia l
Page 3
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Street Roots
2 11N W D avfeS t
Portland, OR 97209
503-228-5657
Fax:503-227-3117
www.streetroots.org
www.news.streetroots.org
Hours: 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Mon.-Fri,, 7:30
a.m.-2 p.m. S a t and 7:30-1 p.m. Sun.
We won’t give up on truth and free speech
emember when the phrase “alternative facts” was understanding on issues important to them, including
laughably absurd? It was the term coined by a
how our school district deals with teachers accused of
White House spokesperson a few days after the
misconduct and lead in its drinking water. Because of
Trump administration took office - way back when lying
hardworking journalists we learned of the crisis in our
about the size of the inauguration audience was the
foster care system, the gutting of our environment, and
most pressing item oil the agenda.
the crippling cycles of poverty and homelessness. And
Today, the assault by the president against the pillars
we have the knowledge to do something about it.
of journalism and the public’s right to know has become
We can add our voices to the #MeToo movement and
far more sinister than we could
Black Lives Matter, and we can mourn Michael Brown.
have imagined.
We can push for real reforms to our‘police forces' and in
Today, we’re told by this
our courtrooms, and demand that tax dollars spent in
H T
president
not
to
believe
what
we
our name reflect our true needs and values.
. f c 11 J f Jl. Bi llJ lf
are seeing. We’re told we’re being
We can demand an end to separating children from
lied to by reporters. We’re warned their parents as they seek asylum at the border.
not to believe so-called “fake
We can cast an educated vote.
And taken as a whole, we grow to learn the difference
news” - defined evidentially as
any reports that counter the message fróm the White
between what’s real and what’s fake.
There can be no doubt that the anti-truth and anti
House.
“What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not
media campaign by this administration has empowered
those who peddle in lies and fear accountability. Hate
what’s happening,” Donald Trump has told the
groups have proliferated in our nation in the past three
American public. “The fake news media,” he tweeted
years. The Southern Poverty Law Center now puts the
referring to major news outlets, “is the enemy of the
number of groups at nearly 1,000. These groups thrive
American people.”
in a world without the challenge of fact checkers. They
That demands a response.
This editorial is part of a coordinated response to the troll their targets online and attack in packs. Entire
statements and posture taken by the president to topple online platforms have been created to host openly
one of our nation’s defining virtues of democracy: a free racist, homophobic and Islamophobic positions.
In this environment, you can’t dismiss the president’s
press.
rhetoric as simply hyperbole.
The Boston Globe has called on editorial boards
It’s almost impossible for most of us to imagine our
across the country to speak out against the president’s
country without a free press. However, millions of
unwarranted condemnation of the media industry -
people around the world live in that reality, where
regardless of their politics. Street Roots is proud to join
dictatorships and oligarchs control the narrative and the
this campaign.
masses are kept in the dark. Not here.
Because the statements of this president are not in
From the earliest days of this country, the press has
the vein of past criticisms that can, in actuality, serve to
strengthen the integrity and responsibility of the Fourth been something people love to hate. It will always be,
and we can deal with that. The press itself demands a
Estate. In fact, the narrative from this White House is
critical eye and accountability. It’s a two-way street The
not criticism at all, but propaganda from the highest
goal should be to refine the process toward truth and
pulpit in the land. It has become cliché to quote George
clarity, not clear the way for more lies.
Orwell’s “1984,” but it is so painfully relevant: “The
In America, public discourse, freedom of speech and
party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and
a free press are fundamental - essential - to our
ears. It was the final, most essential command.”
democracy, and we must continue to fight for them.
Essential, because rejecting facts means rejecting
Which brings us back to George Orwell. Orwell wrote
accountability for those in power. It means rejecting the
“1984” having witnessed the horrors of two world wars,
rule of law and our Constitution. And where do we go
the rise of fascist dictators, and the tactics used to
from there?
secure and maintain unfettered power. From that
But we beliéve most people understand the role of a
vantage, Orwell wrote, “In the time of universal deceit,
free press in holding those in power accountable and
telling the truth becomes a revolutionary a c t”
keeping our government responsible and responsive to
We support the revolution.
the American people. We know that without that local
watchdog, Oregonians would be denied information and
R
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S taff
Executive Director Kaia Sand
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Executive Editor Joanne Zuhl
joanne@streetroots.org
Vendor Program Director Cole M erkel
cole@ streetroots.org
Development Director A n d re w H ogan
andrew @ streetroots.org
Senior S taff Reporter Emily Green
Program Assistant Caelin M iltk o , Jesuit
Volunteer
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Gillow-Wiles
Development Assistant Rosemary Wilson
Editorial Producer Monica Kwasnik
Reporters Sarah Hansell, Leonora Ko, Emilly
Prado, Ellena Rosenthal, Amanda Waldroupe,
DeVon Pouncey, Helen Hill
Photographers Diego Diaz, Arkady Brown,
Celeste Noche
Canvasser Desmond Hardison '
Board of Directors
Chair Rachel Langford
Vice-Chair Dan Jones
Treasurer Heather Stadick
Secretary Alison Hallett
Directors Michael Anderson, Sandra Hahn,
John Brown, Nels Johnson
Volunteers
John Barker, Stacey Heath, Anjali Rathore, Dennis
Hogan, Lucas Hawthorne, Thomas Buell Jr., Jason
Cohen, Doug Spangle, Susannah Kamala, Jon
Raymond, Diana Richardson, Paul and Madeline
Gefroh, Mary Anne Joyce, Brooke Anderson, Gillian
Floren, Mark Oldani, Bianca Butler, Camber Hansen-
Karr, Miranda Woods, Henry Brannan, Helen Hill,
Mary Emerson, Brooke Anderson, Kathleen McFall,
Robb Hengerer, Maile Yeats-Rowe, Erin Parsons, Faye
Powell, Jon Raymond, Danny Moran and Megan
Pickerel-Winer. If you're interested in volunteering
. with Street Roots, please submit a volunteer
application at streetroots.org/volunteer. Or you can
call for more information at 503-228-5657.