A unifying theme of President Trump and his Republican Party’s approach to governing is to politicize every facet of citizens’ lives. Medical research, higher education, science, the military, public radio and television, the judiciary system, social welfare programs, disaster relief, even weather forecasting are now accused of being partisan. Any federal government activity that denies or criticizes this regime’s ideology or cultural values is subject to de-funding.
In response to President Trump’s efforts to cut federal funding for public radio and television, National Public Radio filed a lawsuit. Its CEO, Katherine Maher , said , “We are not choosing to do this out of politics. We are choosing to do this as a matter of necessity and principle. All of our rights that we enjoy in this democracy flow from the First Amendment: freedom of speech, association, freedom of the press. When we see those rights infringed upon, we have an obligation to challenge them.”
The U.S. Constitution is based on principles … the rule of law, morality, ethics, justice, the common good, incorruptibility. In America, those who govern at the federal level swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Yet, many Republicans disparage and belittle these values claiming they’re "woke." But if woke means waking up our sensitivities to injustice and inequality, letting moral values guide us in deciding what’s right and wrong, then woke citizens are exactly what we need today.