By NANCY MARTLAND
Dad didn’t spend WWII in a bomber crew so Donald Trump and his underlings could take away the one basic freedom that defines America: the freedom of expression. The wisdom of our founders guarantees all of us the right to say what we want without suppression or control by our government. One of the hallmarks of the enemy Dad helped to defeat, Nazi Germany, was its utter suppression of free speech, its total control of what was broadcast, printed or spoken about the regime. People died in that war so that we could continue to enjoy this essentially American freedom.
I have always smugly thought that kind of repression could never happen here – that people could be as critical or even tasteless as they like because of our signature Constitutional protections.
I have been proven wrong in the past few weeks. The recent frenzy of retribution toward those who had the temerity to say things that conservatives didn’t like about the tragic murder of Charlie Kirk is shocking and un-American. Ironically, Trump and his conservative followers piously touted their fealty to “Free Speech” as they ran for office in recent elections. Trump is famously noted for saying he “tells it like it is.” Apparently he and his conservative followers reserve this right for themselves.
The spectacle of individuals losing their jobs over remarks conservatives don’t like reached its peak when a federal agency pressured a private company to dismiss one of its employees. This episode was alarming because it involved the federal government trying to muzzle a broadcast outlet. Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, was given the message from the Federal Communications Commission that Disney’s license to broadcast could be withdrawn if Iger didn’t remove comedian Jimmy Kimmel from his late night broadcast over comments conservatives didn’t like. Instead of defending the freedom of expression guaranteed all of us by the First Amendment, Iger initially folded like a cheap suit.
Just to be crystal clear, the United States Government is now in the business of trying to control what broadcasters can and cannot say. The US Government wants to shut down those who criticize or mock them and their followers. A comedian, for heaven’s sake. There is something so fundamentally wrong here.
While Iger responded to public outcry and restored Kimmel after a few days of massive push-back, the episode remains a chilling demonstration of abuse of power. There will be more of this to come, I have no doubt, and we may not be so lucky next time. We are all threatened by Trump’s misunderstanding of his role as elected President. He seems to think he has unlimited power, including the power to silence his critics using the considerable leverage that rests with federal agencies like the FCC. Despite Kimmel’s return, our freedoms are still in Trump’s sights.
Growing up in the 1950s, when things got nasty on the playground the phrase “it’s a free country” often came up. Even kids knew their speech was protected. Offensive, uncouth, tasteless, unkind, but protected nevertheless.
If Trump gets his way, this will no longer be true. It may be too late already.
Some conservatives, understandably distraught by the murder of one of their heroes, have expressed their grief by encouraging people to report coworkers’ remarks about Kirk to their employers, who will presumably fire them.
What’s next? Instructing children to report what their parents say around the kitchen table?
Are we to become a nation of informers?
We’ve seen this movie before, and it does not end well.
Now is the time to stand up for American values. For our right to express ourselves without fear, even if it offends people. These rights are at the heart of American freedom. When pressured, Bob Iger decided to give Jimmy Kimmel’s rights away.
Don’t let Donald Trump take yours.
Nancy Martland of Sugar Hill