"These are wise and courageous words."
"These are wise and courageous words."
Hands down, two of the best and most important commencement speeches delivered in this unique graduation season were by globally recognized journalists, Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron and our very own, my good friend, Rappler CEO and Executive Editor Maria Ressa. Baron addressed Harvard University graduates while Ressa was commencement speaker at her alma mater Princeton University.
In his speech, Baron went straight to the heart of why free speech is central to democracy and good governance:
“Facts and truth are matters of life and death. Misinformation, disinformation, delusions and deceit can kill.”
“Here is what can move us forward: Science and medicine. Study and knowledge. Expertise and reason. In other words, fact and truth.”
“I want to tell you why free expression by all of us and an independent press, imperfect though we may be, is essential to getting at the truth. And why we must hold government to account. And hold other powerful interests to account as well.”
He quotes the famous jurist and champion of free speech, Justice Hugo Black who once said: “The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people.”
Baron argues that every one of us has a stake in free expression:
“You want to be free to express your views. You should be free to hear the views of others, the same or different. You want to be free to watch any movie. To read any book. To listen to any lyrics. You should be free to say what you know is true without threat of government reprisal.”
“And you should acknowledge this if you value these freedoms that come with democracy: Democracy cannot exist without a free and independent press. It never has.”
Baron then criticized leaders who, desiring and accumulating more power for themselves, attack an independent press and destroy free expression as well. Citing many examples, he lamented that much of the world is on that worrisome path, with efforts in the United States to demonize, delegitimize and dehumanize the press giving license to other governments to do the same—and to do even worse. This is illustrated by the fact that 250 journalists worldwide were sitting in prison, including for accusations of “false news,” which, according to Baron, is “a charge virtually unheard-of only seven years earlier.”
In his Harvard commencement speech, Baron highlights “the courageous Maria Ressa,” whom he described as battling government harassment for years on other fronts. According to Baron: “By the end of last year, she had posted bail eight times. Her real violation? She brought scrutiny to the president.”
In her speech to Princeton graduates, Ressa describes her experience and that of her colleagues:
“For the last four years, Rappler and I have been under constant attack by our own government. The weaponization of the law followed the exponential attacks on social media, which acted like fertilizer, tearing down our reputation, inciting to hate, and paving the way for my detention and arrests (that’s with an s). I’ve posted bail eight times so I could keep working, and Rappler and I have paid more in bail and bonds than Imelda Marcos, who’s been convicted in at least four countries.”
These charges, including one on cyberlibel which decision will be handed down next week, are not trivial. Ressa acknowledges this in her speech, mentioning that lawyer Amal Clooney has pointed out that the cumulative penalty for these politically-motivated charges is more than 100 years in prison.
But Ressa is not intimidated:
“The lesson I learned? You don’t know who you are until you’re tested, until you fight for what you believe in. That defines who you are.”
“Embrace your fear. Imagine what you’re most afraid of, touch it and hold it so that you rob it of its power.”
“I admit that it took me more than a month to defang the fear of jail. I hated that the baton was passed to me at this moment in time, but I also knew I wasn’t going to drop it.”
“That’s where courage comes from.”
Ressa had other counsel to Princton’s graduates:
“Finally, beware the mob. This is the worst of human nature, and social media mobs have become the norm. Know that lies laced with anger and hate spread fastest on social media, forming lynch mobs. Switch out of thinking fast to thinking slow. Slow down and think.”
“Know that no matter how much of a superstar you are, you cannot accomplish anything meaningful alone.”
“Build and strengthen your community. Rappler builds communities of action. I just hope it’s enough to protect our democracy.”
Wise and courageous words from two great journalists. I echo them.
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