Historically, the best manuscripts or writings — those we consider classics like The Bible or the works of Shakespeare, Mark Twain and so many others — never seem to age or lose their relevance.

You can certainly add the U.S. Constitution to that list, specifically the First Amendment.

Just as a refresher — and it may be somewhat necessary as polls have shown the average American can only name three of the freedoms included and are often hard pressed to explain what those actually mean — here are the words that serve as the bedrock of our democracy.

“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 peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Many times we defend these rights only when we agree with the message. But that isn’t how it works. Free speech, free press and the others are vital even when we don’t like what is being said.

When it comes to free press, the national media gets beat up quite a bit. Some of it is deserved and some of it is not. Fox News is basically awful when it comes to objective reporting and MSNBC is no better. The networks and what they try to pass off as balanced news are like matching bookends of crazy.

Print newspapers often don’t have the resources to do the level of investigating that they once did. The focus on reader-submitted journalism has also somewhat damaged the credibility of newspapers in some areas.

Regardless, the role and importance of a strong “press” hasn’t changed. Buried in the partisan-slanted propaganda and the entertainment gossip, real journalists are still doing good work to which the rest of us can aspire.

Technology changes have given us the opportunity to be a better-informed public. That often leads to an open and transparent government, which can translate to a good government.

Sometimes organizations or entities understand this and sometimes they do not. The Niles Community Schools Board of Education gets the need for transparency and the benefit of working with the media when it comes to its ongoing superintendent search. The district is conducting its first round of interviews in public and has been very transparent about applicants’ qualifications.

The board should be commended for this as it helps parents, school employees and the taxpayers better understand the decision the board will ultimately make. I’m a firm believer that there is no such thing as too much information.

I was re-watching the HBO series “The Newsroom” recently and was reminded of a great monologue by fictional TV anchor Will McAvoy, portrayed by Jeff Daniels, as he talked about what made our country great.

“We stood up for what was right! We fought for moral reasons, we passed and struck down laws for moral reasons. We waged wars on poverty, not poor people. We sacrificed, we cared about our neighbors, we put our money where our mouths were, and we never beat our chest. We built great big things, made ungodly technological advances, explored the universe, cured diseases, and cultivated the world’s greatest artists and the world’s greatest economy. We reached for the stars, and we acted like men. We aspired to intelligence; we didn’t belittle it; it didn’t make us feel inferior. We didn’t identify ourselves by who we voted for in the last election, and we didn’t scare so easy. And we were able to be all these things and do all these things because we were informed. …”

Unfortunately that level of engagement and informed public is changing. People are disconnecting from their media, from their community, from their freedoms.

But there is still time for people pick up their paper, their phone, their tablet, their computer or some other widget that hasn’t even been imagined yet.

Informed citizens, the freedoms of the First Amendment and open government work together to create a country in which we can all be proud.

 

Michael Caldwell is the publisher of Leader Publications LLC. He can be reached at (269) 687-7700 or by email at mike.caldwell@leaderpub.com.