Honorable Fisher Ames

The Press

“Prostituted Companion”

August 13, 2019

The Honorable Mr. Fisher Ames

Dear Mr. Ames:

You are by far one of the lesser known Founding Fathers so allow me to let others know a bit about you. You represented Massachusetts in the House of Representatives and are known for your Federalist, Anti-Jeffersonian leanings. Your support of the Bill of Rights helped gain support in Massachusetts for the New Constitution. You were also known for your oratorical skills which lead you to be called the “most eloquent Federalist.”

It is your quote regarding the press which today would be most relative and create quite a stir along with much debate. Here goes!

 “We are, heart and soul, friends to the freedom of the press. It is however, the prostituted companion of liberty, and somehow or other, we know not how, its efficient auxiliary. It follows the substance like its shade; but while a man walks erect, he may observe that his shadow is almost always in the dirt. It corrupts, it deceives, it inflames. It strips virtue of her honors, and lends to faction its wildfire and its poisoned arms, and in the end is its own enemy and the usurper’s ally, It would be easy to enlarge on its evils. They are in England, they are here, they are everywhere. It is a precious pest, and a necessary mischief, and there would be no liberty without it.”

Fisher Ames, Review of the Pamphlet on the State of the British Constitution, 1807

Wow! Where do I begin. First, the press is much more influential and prominent in our lives than it was in your day. We have 24-hour news cycles along with cable, network and internet news. I know this is all alien to you but we are bombarded with news and “the Press”.  I would like to think that we all still firmly believe in freedom of the press and it is this freedom which leads to the prostituted companion of liberty. Each side has their outlets to make their policies and feelings known and these outlets become the prostitutes for a cause rather than remaining neutral and offering unbiased opinions. From there it is easy for all sides to fall into deceit and corruption and incite outrageous actions where all members of the press can lose their honor and virtue in order to come out on top. It also leads to the further creation of factions which spread and create even more division in this country. I guess that would be called the wildfire.

A lot of this today is being called fake news a term that is being tossed around just a bit too much as far as I am concerned. However, we look at it and no matter which side of any policy or argument you may stand the press is that “necessary mischief” and a “precious pest” for it is certain as you state that without the press there would be no liberty.

There is just so much to truth and relevance in this quote that it will take more than one letter to really get into. Therefore, let this sink in with you and the readers and you can rest assured you will be hearing from me again on this matter.

Sincerely,

Andrew J. DeMarco