Dec 16, 2020 Dec 16, 2020 It's increasingly apparent that a number of Americans - perhaps a majority - need a course in basic civics, plus pocket copies of the Constitution. It's equally obvious many citizens do not value a free press or the free exchange of ideas - unless, that is, they like what they see and hear. With President Donald Trump's constant drumbeat against "fake news," it's understandable that the trust once placed in the Fourth Estate has eroded - at least, at the national level. Oftentimes, when followers on the Tahlequah Daily Press Facebook timeline disparage "the media," they hasten to add, "We don't mean the local press." Unfortunately, this is one of those "guilt by association" situations, no matter how much the naysayers may deny it.