I went to see The Post and….

The journalist in me loved seeing the old printing presses and the type setting. I loved the copy editing and the buzz of the news room. And of course, I loved the message. The message that we have the right to freedom of the press. A freedom that allows them, and in turn the people, to hold all of our officials accountable. Especially as todays world is seeing an all time low in accountability and fact based news coverage.

The feminist in me glowed at the moment when she finally stood up to the naysayers and nonbelievers in her ability to run and lead a major publication in a mans world. My mind chanting ‘you go girl!’ so loud I thought someone might hear it. I was almost moved to tears when she admitted “we didn’t know any better,” in a conversation with her daughter. Revealing that she had not questioned her role as wife and mother years ago, even though her father side stepped her by passing the company to her husband. Assuming and believing it was her “place.”  Until it wasn’t.

The widow in me cried as she spoke of the days following her husbands death. The shock, horror, and blur of it all. As she recalled being 45 at the time and never having held a “real job” in all her life. How young she was when she was left to raise her children and run her families company, their legacy.  How committed she was to feeding her mind all the knowledge she needed to run her business, her family, and her life on her own.

The mother in me felt protective of her for wanting to take the safe route to preserve the future of that legacy for her children and grandchildren. And when she realized she wasn’t the only mother involved, I wanted to hug her as she spat the words “you watched as we sent our boys over there to die” at the Secretary of State.  I wanted to hug her for being a woman, a woman with the compassion to know that they were not numbers and tallies of one side versus the other.  They were people, human lives.

I left the movie with a big smile on my face as I reveled in the victory of their fight.

Big things like this are happening today. The world is on fire and sometimes extinguishing it is impossible. We are writing stories that will be remembered long from now, and it amazes me. It thrills me. And yes, it also saddens me. Some of the fires we fight have been burning for so long, they are both our history and our present day. But we are still fighting.

I am not discouraged by these thoughts. In fact, I am encouraged by generations of champions who have not given up and instead have raised generations of champions. Champions of the cause. In this movie it is the cause of freedom of the press, the freedom we have to maintain accountability. But there are so many champions fighting today for freedom, for life, for tolerance, for justice, for equality, for health, for happiness, and for peace. For our rights to be humans. For our rights to be loved. For our future on this planet.  Oh the stories they are writing, and they don’t even realize it yet.

I was reminded journalism isn’t chasing a side, or determining a platform. It is reporting the facts, the truth, the details, as things happen. It is saying matter of factly, this happened. Who? What? When? Where? And hopefully even Why?

But the why is not always clear. Not always explainable.

And it can be what bogs down the facts and truth of what is being reported. We are so curious, speculative, and determined to find answers.

In questioning why people do things, we want to box and classify them. We want to determine good vs evil. We want to write a code around life that will omit terrible things.

We can not.

We can continue to be informed. We can educate ourselves and our children. We can encourage independent thought, compassion, and informed decision making. We can teach tolerance and live tolerantly. We can hold each other accountable. We can fight. And…we can tell the stories.

It is unlikely we will ever see an end to discontent and unrest.  Yet it is often through the difficult things, the struggles, the shocking and unexplainable, that compassion and unity emerge. It is in those moments we must revel. Much like the unity of The Washington Post and The New York Times finding themselves on the same side of history. Both finding victory in a common goal. Competitors until that moment in which they needed to work together to protect their freedoms.

It is a great thing to be a part of a democracy committed to freedom, peace, and prosperity.  It is a great thing even when the waters of that democracy are murky and difficult to navigate. The hope is still there.  The commitment is still there. And although this day is not a perfect day, stories like The Post tell us some things are worth fighting for and there will be victories!