In search of more sunshine

What strange times we live.

This is Sunshine Week (March 11-17). For something that sounds so bright and cheery, we must visit about topics like “fake news,” government transparency, and our right to know. Perhaps our times are so strange because we don’t talk more frequently about such things.

Maybe you rate Sunshine Week right up there with National Potato Chip Day (which happens to be today). Or maybe the designation is no more serious to you than “National Goof Off Day” slated next week on March 22. Sunshine Week gets lost in such twaddle.

Nobody has to tell newspaper editors how fewer and fewer people seem to care about the current status of journalism concerning matters large and small. The profession of journalism is no longer held in high regard. I can’t help but wonder what that means concerning our priorities in search of truth.

First, consider how negative attitudes trickle down from the top. Donald Trump was elected President in part by aggressively discrediting the news media. Sunshine’s glare should focus on the Fourth Estate as well as the government. Opinions on how this should be done vary; I certainly don’t want to defend all in the media I see. Much criticism is justified. But surely there is danger when the rhetoric from leadership becomes so corrosive.

Our Founding Fathers recognized and made special provisions for the Fourth Estate. Contrast that to today, when efforts to sow confusion and contempt for journalists deliberately undermine journalism’s traditional role as a watchdog on government and politicians.

Experts on the press and democracy worry how cries of “fake news” may do long-term damage to our society. Crying “fake news” is now commonplace:

• A South Dakota candidate for Congress urged her constituents to submit entries for her “fake news awards” when confronted about controversial views of a prominent endorser (the candidate was South Dakota’s Secretary of State, their chief elections official)
• The Kentucky governor tweets #FAKENEWS to dismiss questions about his purchase of a home from a supporter.
• An aide to the Texas land commissioner uses the phrase to downplay the significance of his boss receiving donations from employees of a company that landed a multimillion-dollar contract.

Allowing or, worse, accepting the tactics of “fake news” erodes trust. Serious journalists worry that such turmoil distracts attention from other matters that demand explanation and transparency. Distractions complicate and confuse. Here in Missouri, for example, our governor faces felony indictment over an illicit sexual incident — a serious distraction impacting his job performance while also distracting from his questioned use of non-profit organizations using “black money” to slip past public scrutiny.

Finding factual truth in the midst of murky circumstances isn’t easy, and financially risky. And, let’s face it, there are fewer professional journalists — certainly the kind of aspiring journalists our Founding Fathers sought to protect.

The consequences of eclipsing Sunshine trickle down. When truth no longer matters, apathy increases. People who feel helpless on deplorable national or statewide matters tend to lose initiative to take care of local matters which they can directly impact. See if this list sounds familiar:

Anemic Elections — With every passing election in Daviess County, there seems to be fewer and fewer candidates. Fewer choices means less focus. Recently, 22 entities were identified for Daviess County voters where there are no contests between candidates for the upcoming April election. It’s no wonder why so few actually cast votes.

Public Notices — With every passing year, the legislature reconsiders proposals that would seriously weaken our right to know. For instance, last month SB 877 was proposed in the Missouri Legislature. If passed, a trustee of a foreclosure would be allowed to post notice of a trustee’s sale on his or her website — another step toward “Don’t ask …don’t care” and a step closer to an even more arrogant “What the public doesn’t know won’t hurt them” attitude that some officials already harbor.

Without “Sunshine,” people simply disengage. The apathy increases, even on local matters. Perhaps that’s why the Lake Viking’s 165th Street road project — where a low bid of $55,850 blossomed into a final total payment of $220,177 — without much public outcry. Special road district board negligence and incompetence nearly approached criminal proportions. And yet, taxpayers there paying the bills didn’t seem to care.

Sunshine Week is about promoting truth on all levels of our society. Casually casting truth aside is a dangerous road to travel. Our Founding Fathers never envisioned our nation without a solid foundation of truth. And, despite what you may think of the media in general, our forefathers never envisioned a time without a functioning Fourth Estate.

Respecting the sincere quest for truth is ancient wisdom. History repeatedly documents tragedy when truth is discarded. Voltaire said, “Anyone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”

Sunshine Week 2018 is less than cheery because the business model sustaining journalism’s traditional and vital role in our society is failing. Fact checking, the investigation of possible misdeeds, and sustaining unpopular efforts to hold powerful entities accountable are not financially rewarding. Sound bites are prized above truth. Americans today choose profits over truth.

So, pardon me, but yes, I believe discussing such topics as these during Sunshine Week is important. Maybe the conversation should begin by asking each other if we’re choosing news sources for information or ammunition. Do we seek facts more than we seek opinion? More importantly, do we seek facts before settling into our own opinion?

Truth in today’s society is under attack. The journalists I personally know aspire to maintain standards for accuracy and fairness that go back for decades. The news sources I choose would never publish a story which contained deliberate falsehoods. Thus, broad allegations of “fake news” are unjust attacks on a free press, even when phrased to seemingly target some offender.

So, yes, jab at journalism. That’s OK. Sunshine, first and foremost defined in scripture, stands for truth in all things. If a media source or “fake news” cannot stand right in that light, we don’t need it. We don’t need fakes, not in our public or private life, not in leadership or in our neighbors.

Sunshine Week is about journalism. An alarming number of Americans could care less. But, let me be clear, it’s absolute truth that is under attack.

What strange times we live.