Our freedom of speech and the freedom of the press are under pressure from multiple directions. Recent events make the danger impossible to ignore. When journalists like Don Lemon and comedians like Stephen Colbert are pressured simply for doing their jobs —documenting public events and asking challenging questions through satire — it sends a warning to every individual who relies on constitutional protection to hold power accountable. The media is no longer free when its members are threatened, arrested, censored or canceled by the government and those currying favor.

Equally troubling was that the Trump administration branded six members of Congress as “seditionists” for reading the military code of conduct in a video. Accusations of criminality are now used as tools to intimidate dissent and chill debate.

These are not isolated incidents. They form a pattern of suppressing speech that challenges authority. If we allow intimidation — of journalists, lawmakers, comedians and ordinary citizens— to become normalized, we erode the very foundation of democratic self-government.

Karen Norris
Monmouth