We're number 46

The United States of America is a bastion of freedom of the press, right? Wrong.

The press in the U.S. is among the most free in the world and may in fact be the most free in the world. Wrong. The press in America is free, period. Wrong. Reporters Without Borders just released its 2014 World Press Freedom Index. 180 countries around the world were ranked according to the freedom enjoyed by their journalists and the government regulations they have to work under. The ranking was based on seven criteria-the level of abuses, the extent of pluralism, media independence, the environment and self-censorship, the legislative framework, transparency and infrastructure. The United States was ranked number 46, which is bad enough for the ostensible leader of the free world...what makes it even more awful is that last year the U.S. was ranked number 33, which means that freedom of the press (along with virtually everything else in America under President Obama I might add) is deteriorating and getting worse.

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Not that being ranked number 33 is anything for Americans to be proud of either. It isn’t. It goes without saying that a free press is one of the building blocks, one of the cornerstones, of freedom and democracy and that freedom and democracy cannot possibly exist if freedom of the press doesn’t exist as well. Freedom of the press is absolutely essential to freedom and democracy and freedom and democracy cannot exist, or survive, without it. The freedom that Americans enjoyed over the years, and to a certain extent still enjoy, was built on the foundation of freedom of the press. When freedom of the press disappears freedom disappears along with it and that is exactly what is happening in the United States today...freedom of the press in the U.S. is disappearing and so is freedom in general. Think that’s an exaggeration do you? Pick any major issue of the day, ObamaCare, the economy, Iran’s threatening behavior, the Islamization of the country and its institutions, including the military, Syria, the Middle East in general, immigration, race relations, crime, gun control, gay rights, Obama’s usurping more and more power unto himself and his generally lawless activities, anything, and try finding anything but the party line in any of the national press or mainstream media, or most of the local press or local media either. You won’t, and the reasons why are the reasons why America is ranked number 46. And slipping. Think you’re still free to voice your opinion publicly or speak out against the party line? Try voicing your opinion or speaking out against the party line on ObamaCare, the economy, Iran’s threatening behavior, the Islamization of the country and its institutions, including the military, Syria, the Middle East in general, immigration, race relations, crime, gun control, gay rights, Obama’s usurping more and more power unto himself and his generally lawless activities, anything, and you’ll soon see how free you really are...you will soon see you’re not nearly as free as you thought you were. Think the two aren’t inextricably related? Wrong. They are. Every time the press loses some of its freedom you lose some of yours too. Once freedom of the press is lost freedom is lost too. If freedom of the press is lost in the United States freedom will be lost in the United States. Period. It will be lost in the rest of the free world as well because there can be no free world without the United States at its helm. Number 46 and slipping. Americans should be absolutely ashamed of allowing that to happen and should do everything they can to send their ranking skyrocketing up in next year’s Index. For freedom’s sake. We’re number 46...doesn’t sound American at all, does it?