NY Post

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” It is imperative that we listen to the directives of our Constitution’s framers and critically think about our rights of free speech and the press. However, recently a journalist named Jamal Khashoggi was killed because of him using these rights.

Khashoggi was a journalist from Saudi Arabia who was living in the US and working for the Washington Post when he was killed while getting requisite papers for his upcoming marriage to Hatice Cengiz. On October 2, 2018, Khashoggi walked into the Saudi Arabian consulate and never walked out.

Turkish investigators say that he was brutally tortured and murdered by Saudi operatives while inside the building. The Turkish officials also said that there was video and audio evidence of the torture, murder, and dismemberment of his body. Furthermore, the Saudi operatives issued a “body double” to make it look as if Khashoggi left the building. The murderers had close ties to Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, who Khashoggi previously criticized as a journalist. Salman has been known to kill rivals and consolidate power.

Khashoggi utilized his First Amendment right of freedom of speech and lawfully criticized Mohammed bin Salman’s way of running the Saudi government. He criticized the late Saudi King Abdullah, who did not approve of Khashoggi’s criticism of many of his policies. His opinions prompted them to believe that he was trying to threaten the Royal family’s power, and that’s when they decided to kill him.

This was a premeditated murder based on the Saudi government not letting Jamal Khashoggi express his freedom of speech. This abuse of power of the Saudi government can not only be seen in Saudi Arabia, but can be seen in our country, too.

Four days ago, the president stripped CNN journalist Jim Acosta of his credentials. What provoked this was Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the President’s campaign manager and political advisor, issuing a doctored video of Acosta appearing to assault an intern during an interview. The video is a sped up version of the original, making it look as if Acosta is shoving down the hand of the Intern.

These two recent instances lead me to a few questions about the country’s people and especially our journalists. Do our words matter? What baffles me is that our President, who uses the Constitution’s Second Amendment as one of his biggest campaign pushes, has the hypocrisy to abolish the First Amendment right that Jim Acosta has as a journalist and as an American citizen.

Secondly, are we paying attention?

This country is just as much our’s as it is Jim Acosta’s, Jamal Khashoggi’s, and President Trump’s. It is our responsibility to educate ourselves on the affairs of the White House, and if we can’t get sufficient coverage of what is occurring in Washington, D.C., how could we ever pay attention?

Moving forward, we need to protect our journalists and be aware of the ongoings of our country. We need to make an effort and pay attention to these events so that we can fully value the role journalists have on the people, who make this country the democracy that it is. What happens in Washington directly affects us and even people across the globe. Protecting our First Amendment right does not only protect our freedom of speech, but also our basic human right of being an American.