The book tells us that we shall know them by their fruits. It is rather ironic that many mainstream media publish so many opinion articles about Donald Trump’s being the world’s most dangerous man, a racist, a bigot, and a Nazi, and the United Kingdom has even tried to ban him from entering the UK when he is not even in power. I am not a Donald Trump supporter, but I do not think Trump is a racist or an extremist, nor are the people who support him a bunch of haters, racists, or bigots. Americans are angry because their politicians have promised much and delivered little. My choice of candidates was Ben Carson, and he is already out of race, strangely endorsing Donald Trump. But what I have seen here is an example of superficial bias in journalism influenced by political ideology. I think that Donald Trump is playing to the crowd because he speaks to their language; he understands people are angry. Donald Trump’s rhetoric is like what George Orwell in his seminal “Essay Politics and the English Language” referred to as language for concealing and not expressing thought rather than as an instrument of expressing thought. Orwell argues that our language has become, “ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.” While Trump’s language, and perhaps thought, is slovenly, his push for power is concerted.
Momentarily setting aside Trump, however, let’s look at someone who is already in power. President Obama has not fixed any problems leaving the Russians and Iranians in charge of world affairs. Obama has been obsessed with moving America into a decline, and Americans are not going to take it anymore. If Donald Trump becomes Americans’ 46th President, he will be a lot more liberal than many imagine. That is why when Donald Trump claims; “I would make America the greatest country again,” his message resonates with the general public. Having said that, I do believe Trump is a buffoon and that he says insulting things, but that does not make him a racist, a fascist, or the reincarnation of Hitler.
But actually the one who has repeatedly insulted America is President Obama, and no one says anything about him. He insults everything America stands for. The values of faith, family, and freedom made America great, but for eight years President Obama has worked hard to destroy this foundation that allowed America to become great. Of course, it is important for political leaders, especially those in the United States who are the leaders of the free world, to have spoken of the need to hear arguments and counterarguments, to be open to alternative ideas, and not to resort to political correctness, which in a way is a denial of free speech. That is why I do not agree with mainstream media for calling Trump a racist, or a Hitler because America represents a country in the free world where everyone can express their views and opinions freely.
Democracy means different things to different people. According to the Yale Professor of Political Science Robert Dahl’s theories about traditional democracy, democracy is an ideal not a reality, even for modern countries. According to Dahl, five criteria of a democracy include: citizens should have the ability and the opportunity to effectively participate; every citizen should know his or her vote will be counted as equal with the next citizen; citizens should be enlightened and understand what the best decision might be; citizens should have the ability to help form the actual agenda; and the democratic process must be inclusive of everyone. As Dahl admitted, true democracy does not exist. What makes the American form of government better than other forms of government is the principle of checks and balances, which means that power rests on many instead of on one or just a few. There are varying opinions, freedom of speech, freedom of press, the right to participate in the political process, and inclusive voting rights, in America. These must be safeguarded.
Lawmaking is a religious exercise, and government is a God-ordained institution. It is true, though, that the founding fathers wrote a letter to the church about separation of church and state. It is understandable that government should not run the church and the church should not run the government. But law, civil law rooted way back to Moses’ time and rooted in morality, justice, equality, and moral convictions, is based on religious beliefs. Because of this sacred tradition, the Constitution and its Amendments must be defended.
Media freedom means the safety of a society and its institutions to speak freely in the formulations of public policy, and independent media means a situation of self-regulation where media professionals themselves are responsible to uphold the high ethics of public interest, which they profess to follow. That is why it is important to have accurate and fair media in contributing to democracy. Curtailing media fosters violence instead of promoting peace. Yet, British Parliament is debating whether Trump should be banned from England for his so-called hate speech against Muslims.
The First Amendment right to freedom of speech under the US Constitution permits Donald Trump to make claims and proposals that others may not agree with. Mainstream media is accusing Trump of hate speech, but a look at what Donald said shows the bias. He stated that Arab Americans cheered during the 9/11 attacks, and it is true that some of the people did cheer. Trump said he would build a wall between Mexico and the US, but earlier Obama declared that a great wall should be build there as well. Today the United States and Europe are challenged with the problem of figuring out how to deal with the millions of illegal immigrants and refugees. Especially in the United States there are millions of illegal immigrants. The problem is encouraged by two policies that violate the rights of every American citizen: providing benefits, such as education, health care, etc., for illegal immigrants at the expense of the American citizens, and offering birthright citizenship to any person who is born in the US regardless of where the child’s parents are from or how they got there, a birthright now guaranteeing American citizenship. Consequently, many Koreans and Chinese get pregnant and pay hospitals to stay a couple of months at the hospital to deliver their baby so it can become an American citizen, and then they go back to their country. Granted what Donald Trump is saying is not fair for those who come to America legally and by these policies America is justifying the wicked opportunists; yet, he has a right to free speech.
However, America is a melting pot and welcoming and respectful to lawful immigrants and visitors. Trump suggested a temporary ban on Muslims entering the US until a policy could be developed for better screening; he did not say he hated Muslims. His proposed ban on Muslims entering the US solely on the grounds of their religion was definitely problematic. Trump could not implement that policy because what if someone becomes Muslim in the USA? Will he deport that convert? What the mainstream media and leftwing groups failed to understand is that free speech is a two way street. Not only do you have the right to speak, but also that right must be extended to everyone who disagrees with you. Nevertheless, media is denouncing Donald Trump for promoting hate speech yet tapping into that same speech to increase their viewing or listening audience.
The protesters have both pro-Trump and anti-Trump groups invoking the First Amendment. The pro-Trump group argues that the protesters are violating Trump’s and their own right to free speech. Anti-Trump demonstrators claim they are also exercising their own right. The question is can any private citizen violate the First Amendment? The First Amendment does not govern the citizens; it governs the government. The Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law . .abridging freedom of speech, or of the press.” It, therefore, guarantees that Congress cannot restrict the rights of individuals to speak freely or the rights of the press. There is, however, a need for striking a balance between community interests and individual rights. Also, press freedom cannot be absolute without contradicting the ethical basis for existence. It is essentially the same as individual freedom of expression in that it affords the same rights and privileges to the press as individuals have to freely express themselves through dissemination. Freedom of the press does not allow them to constrain an individual’s freedom of expression by labeling or railing against that individual, even the bombastic Trump.
Dr. Aland Mizell is President of the MCI and a regular contributor to Mindanao Times. You may email the author at:aland_mizell2@hotmail.com