Open letter to America’s news media

Attention News Media:

America’s Fourth of July traditionally features a huge public celebration on the National Mall in Washington, a gigantic nonpartisan celebration with patriotic music and spectacular fireworks. If you cover Donald Trump pontificating in front of the Lincoln Memorial, I will not watch. If you cover an extravagant, unnecessary, saber-rattling military parade featuring tanks, planes, and soldiers, I will not watch.

Our holiday is about all of us. It’s about Americans celebrating together. It’s not about Donald Trump or any single individual. It’s not about parading our military might — especially at a time when international tensions are rising across the world. This isn’t China or Russia or North Korea, and it’s not about proving we have a bigger stick. We don’t need to flex our military muscle to intimidate our enemies or cow our citizens.

This is not Donald Trump’s holiday; it’s not about or for him. And it’s not Armed Forces Day or a V-J Day. Don’t make it so.

Just this once, try not to be complicit.

 

14 thoughts on “Open letter to America’s news media

  1. Everyone has differing context and perspective.Things are so full of conflict.
    Curious – does ANYONE even watch broadcast news/news events anymore? It’s all too irritating. None of them miss a chance to ruin anything by inflammatory blah, blah, blah
    As with most things these days, local is better: managing politics, government, charities, and holiday celebrations.
    Time to rediscover fun and joy…appears locally is the only chance.

    1. I went mostly local a long time ago. There’s more to life than Donald Trump. If I watch national news, it’s only long enough to catch the day’s headlines (and guess who’s in most of them).

      1. Ditto here – self preservation.
        Hope you can see fireworks from our window. We’re on pet calming patrol here – which is fine as after all today’s storms they are expecting extreme heat for the holiday.
        Cheers and onward (Ah, those web cams! Thanks) (Whoa lost that motorcycle on Pike’s Peak climb. Tragic)

        1. About a year ago the vet prescribed trazadone for Annie to help her get through thunderstorms and fireworks. Works pretty well. Tricky with thunderstorms, though, since instructions say give it to her 2 hours before a thunderstorm. In Colorado! Lots of luck with that. Still, she’s learned that with the first sound of thunder, I’m likely headed to the kitchen to get out the peanut butter (and pill).

          Sad about the Pikes Peak accident. That it doesn’t happen more often is a tribute to the skill of those riders and drivers.

          1. CannaPet is a big thing for vets here. Ella probably has some in her gear pack.
            Luckily we have double paned hurricane windows which deaden sound pretty well…except Molly can hear a USP/Amazon truck when it turns onto the block.
            Hear the wild flowers are just spectacular as fireworks up there now. Hope you get a chance to go see some….after the 4th – summer traffic there is pretty annoying.

          2. I’ve got double-paned windows but here it’s probably for insulation. And they don’t do anything to muffle sound. (Boy, that would be nice!)
            I haven’t been in the mountains at all this year. They just keep getting farther and farther away …

        2. I suppose Staff is buried under piles of orders and instructions from RC Cat, at times of celebration, After all she does have a domain to control.
          Perhaps she should be offered to the White House, they could do with some discipline.

  2. I have a sickening suspicion that trump might just get back in again, in which case it will probably be Bye Bye USA .
    From this outside of the USA world, it doesn’t seem that there is much in the way of firm resolve to get rid of this brain dead megalomaniac; in fact it looks half hearted and that the people want him back

    1. It’s extremely complicated, with all the applicable laws and politics. And now there’s concern that anything done might backfire and help get him reelected. That’s one reason they’re stalling on impeachment. They don’t want that action in progress during the run-up to the election.

    1. I watched the Macys fireworks show instead, and it was amazing. Fireworks shows over water are the very best, especially when synced with patriotic music. For a half hour or so I enjoyed my misty eyes and goosebumps.

  3. Never happened. The speech was ALL about America, not President Trump. History will show him a one of the greatest presidents in our nation’s history.

... and that's my two cents