Regarding “A threat to our basic freedoms,” (Port Washington Times Editorial, Aug. 17):
As I have written elsewhere, never in my wildest dreams (nay, nightmares) would I have thought it necessary for American newspapers from coast to coast to defend their Constitutional role of oversight of government.
I commend you for adding your voice to those of so many others who have “come together in support of the First Amendment and a free press.”
This is democracy at work, and not as some (including some of your readers) would have it, “collusion” or an “assault,” by the media on the Trump administration.
To claim as much would require us to stick our collective heads in the sand and to ignore the daily documented lies and misleading statements emanating from the Oval Office; the threats from the White House to take revenge on critics; and the actual implementation of those threats by the denial of access to journalists and the revocation of security clearances.
The White House has brought this criticism upon itself by attacking the media as “the enemy of the American people.”
Claims of victimhood will appeal to none but diehard Trump loyalists.
Getting too hot in the Oval Office? As President Harry S. Truman once said, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
Public officials serve at our pleasure, subject to criticism and subject to being voted out at the next election.
As has often been said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
Our newspapers and other media are essential to maintaining this vigilance by ensuring an informed electorate.
Long may they continue to provide the eyes and ears through which we learn how our federal, state and local governments operate.
JAY N. FELDMAN
Port Washington
