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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 2018)
4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, AUGUST 13, 2018 editor@dailyastorian.com KARI BORGEN Publisher JIM VAN NOSTRAND Editor Founded in 1873 JEREMY FELDMAN Circulation Manager DEBRA BLOOM Business Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN Production Manager CARL EARL Systems Manager OUR VIEW With free speech comes responsibility T he recent controversy about whether conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ absurdities should be removed from media platforms has been shaped by his supporters as both a First Amendment and censorship issue. It is neither. It is an integrity issue. The actions of the managers at Facebook, YouTube and Apple in removing his incendiary con- tent are unsurprising. And certainly, they are very easy to justify. Free speech isn’t free — it comes with consequences. The First Amendment guarantees only that the government isn’t going to arrest you for what you say, with limited exceptions. It doesn’t shield you from criticism or consequences. It doesn’t protect you from being fired for what you say in the workplace. It doesn’t mean that anyone has to listen to you. People can boycott you, cancel your television show or ban you from their internet communities. If you express extreme and repre- hensible views, in person or online, you may be ostracized by society. Unworthy martyr Jones is a Texas-based media pundit whose InfoWars website is a hotbed of bizarre theories detached from any sem- blance of reality. The only downside we can see of booting him from Facebook, YouTube and Apple is creating a martyr in the eyes of the radical fringe. Some of his musings: • The 9/11 terrorist attacks and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing were per- petrated by the U.S. government. • The 2012 Sandy Hook shootings, in which 20 children and six adults in Connecticut were slaughtered by a young gunman, were an invention. • David Hogg and other eloquent sur- vivors of the Parkland, Florida, school shootings in February are paid actors, hired to advance a gun-control agenda. (This is popularly known as “Second Amendment fan fiction.”) He has also been censured for pro- tently lean in one direction, we strive to offer a platform for readers and colum- nists to offer alternate and often conflict- ing views. But with this offer comes a caveat. We genuinely welcome letters and col- umns that express viewpoints that are contrary to ours. But we won’t pub- lish material that is characterized by name-calling, or accuses people of crimes for which they have not been convicted, or seeks to broadcast unver- ifiable claims and complaints against businesses or individuals. Because we set and enforce these standards, we have been accused of cen- sorship. No. We simply set standards. David Swanson/Philadelphia Inquirer Alex Jones speaks at Settlers Landing during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. moting “Pizzagate,” a bizarre story about human trafficking whose publica- tion led to death threats at a Washington, D.C., restaurant, and a false story about an Idaho food processor import- ing migrant rapists — both fictions for which Jones has had to apologize. The problem isn’t that Jones holds these views, or tries to disseminate them. The issue is that all too often his pronouncements lead others to threaten, vandalize and harass the subjects of his false stories. Facebook pages which carried Jones’ statements have been removed after evi- dence that he disseminated hate speech against Robert Mueller, the special counsel who is investigating President Donald Trump and his close associates; so, too, has his YouTube channel, and so has Apple, which hosted his podcasts on its iTunes platform. Mueller’s probe reportedly examined whether InfoWars had anything to do with Russian inter- ference in the 2016 presidential elections. In all cases, these private publish- ing companies have said the outrageous claims fail to meet their standards and may incite illegal actions. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peace- ably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” — First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, adopted Dec. 15, 1791 Familiar controversy If this controversy over the First Amendment sounds familiar, it is because it has often been addressed on the opinion page of this newspaper. The Daily Astorian has always had a clear editorial voice, dating back well before the late J.W. “Bud” Forrester set the standard for never sitting on the fence. We keep our opinions to this edi- torial page, while seeking to publish unbiased news stories on all our other pages. And because our editorial viewpoints, especially on national politics, consis- The most important words And as for the First Amendment, that’s all about the government improp- erly trying to set parameters for publications. It doesn’t factor into the Jones case. Back in 1791, the most important words ever set to paper in the English language were crafted by the found- ers of this nation. James Madison orig- inally wrote, “The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sen- timents; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable.” That wording morphed through a careful editing process into those precious words we hold inviolable. “Congress shall make no law . . . abridg- ing the freedom of speech, or of the press.” With that freedom comes responsibility. Just as it is not responsible to yell “fire!” in a crowded theater, it is cer- tainly not responsible comment to inflame or incite by posting obvious falsehoods that cause others to act inap- propriately or even illegally. Sophisticated and communi- ty-minded publishers know that — and choose what they print accordingly. SOUTHERN EXPOSURE A timeless author, discovered too late I like to think “better late than never” when it comes to discovering an author. Brian Doyle died at 60 in May 2017, only months after he won an Oregon Book Award for his young adult novel “Martin Marten.” Doyle was a former New Yorker, the son of a newspaperman and a teacher who made his mark in this state and dedicated himself largely to its wonders on the coast and elsewhere. A former editor of the University of Port- land’s Portland Maga- zine, Doyle was nom- inated for the Oregon Book Award nine times and finally won in 2016 R.J. MARX for “Martin Marten.” As deeply as his char- acters correlate their lives with his fiction debut, “Mink River,” Doyle affiliated him- self with the Oregon Coast, especially the North Coast, promoting and sharing his work at Get Lit at the Beach, the city’s signature literary gathering. Doyle was an advocate for young peo- ple, providing workshops for students in Cannon Beach, Seaside and Astoria. Watt Childress of Jupiter’s Books called Doyle a “masterful, lyrical writer, with a heart the size of Mount Hood.” In a 2014 reading, Doyle “relayed sto- ries like prayers,” Childress said. At the same event, Cannon Beach’s internationally renowned novelist Terry Brooks called Doyle “one of the best writ- ers he’s ever read.” This week, Childress compared Doyle to the singer/songwriter Van Morrison. “Somehow I think of them in tandem. When you mention the lyricism. There’s just so much feeling packed in there. Damn! The good folks just don’t live long enough.” ‘Just sit down and play’ For this reader, what strikes me most is I chose “Mink River” out of all Doyle’s the book’s mournful prose. books, essays and poetry after randomly Deep, drenching sadness that immerses pulling it off the library shelf. us in not only the rich outdoor lives of I was so enthralled I bought a used coastal Oregonians in the fictional city of copy for myself, coincidentally signed by Neawanaka, but leads us into an epider- mal layer of pain, sadness and loss. the author “To David.” (David, wherever What more can we ask from a writer you are, shame on you for parting with than to say he has changed the way this autographed edition!) we look at the world around us? “Mink River” takes you on an Doyle reaches more to William inner trail, a serpent’s tail that pulls Butler Yeats and Dylan Thomas at the connections in your mind, than American authors like John paints a multilayered canvas and Updike or John Cheever, exqui- provides raw material for a fellow site interior monologuists both. writer’s toolkit, which is never full Perhaps it is the Irish brogue that enough. Brian Doyle permeates the characters of the Ottesa Moshfegh, a young O’Donnell clan, an unforgettable writer profiled in The New Yorker lineage descended from the unfor- in July, wrote: “Writing to me, gettable Red Hugh, “a master curser who is more musical than I think it is literary starts cursing before he even gets out of a lot of the time — the way that a voice bed.” can sound and the way that it leads the Red Hugh can still get a “good burst” reader in a sort of virtual reality, a journey going, Doyle writes, “although he can’t through its own consciousness.” sustain an hour’s worth of snarling invec- Doyle could have easily said the same. tive like he could in the old days.” “Don’t think when you write,” Doyle Doyle’s fabulous crow, Moses, a full- said at Get Lit. “Your head is probably blown, walking, talking, flying character, your worst enemy. Just sit down and play. possesses the gift of speech, which he puts And listen to what needs to be said.” to good use in aiding and abetting the life Writing, he said, is “taking an idea out and well-being of the residents of Neawa- for a walk.” naka. Moses makes “Jonathan Livingston In “Mink River,” Doyle doesn’t walk, Seagull” look like a pipsqueak. he runs. The setting is the fictional Ore- gon Coast town of Neawanaka, a hybrid Even the bears and creatures of the for- est are given full throat. Witness the bear name like Ursula K. Le Guin’s fictional and her two cubs as they “trundle in rug- “Seaview,” another tribute to our shores. ged parade order, fascinated by bees and “I have visited the coast very often,” berries.” Doyle said in a 2011 interview with the Gazette’s Erin Bernard. “Central and Doyle’s legacy north, and wanted very much to sing and Doyle is as plaintive as the ouzels he celebrate the hard brave sweet wet wild portrays — festive singing water birds life there; one of the most delicious com- ments I have had was from a reader on — among the crawdads and water strid- ers. His narration blurs the line between the coast who said this book is true to life human and animal consciousness to the here; that to me was a great honor. I so point where nature itself is communicat- wanted it to be true fiction, you know?” “Mink River” will be the featured work of Cannon Beach Reads, a program from the Cannon Beach Library on Sept. 19. ing, reminding us of the chirping, mewing and mooing around us — the language of animals. The sentences are long, lingering, recit- ing lists but never listing, with a cascade of revelations ending with a punch line to the gut. Childress guided me to another work by Doyle, “Spirited Men: Story, Soul and Substance.” The 2004 collection is notable for its profile of Van Morrison (which will send you scrambling to YouTube for live clips of the great and soulful rocker); con- templations of the alto saxophonist Paul Desmond; and an exploration of the cler- ical themes of 20th-century novelist Gra- ham Greene. Doyle, like Greene, was a master of many genres, a literary omnivore, capa- ble of dissecting a wolverine; appreciating and one-upping a quick wit or appraising a pinot noir. Such writers are all too rare in any decade. Reading his tales of death, loneliness, love and natural magic, I am grateful for the legacy of work he left behind. “People ask for him,” Childress said. “But not enough. Maybe his name has not risen to the point where people are requesting him as much as he deserves. He’s the kind of person that’s going to be here and stick around, and people are going to come back again and again to read and enjoy.” R.J. Marx is The Daily Astorian’s South County reporter and editor of the Seaside Signal and Cannon Beach Gazette.
