NPR is a publicly funded news organization that is supposed to be unbiased, trustworthy and driven by public interest rather than the almighty dollar. But as America grows more divided with regards to politics and the news, even National Public Radio has been relegated to a side of the aisle by listeners.
For the past 29 years, NPR's "Morning Edition" segment has dedicated air time on the Fourth of July to reading the Declaration of Independence. Since this is the document that launched the Revolutionary War and marked the beginning of the great land that makes NPR possible, it feels like a fitting tribute. And this year, to truly honor the Declaration of Independence in today's digital age, NPR also decided to tweet out the full document in 140-character segments.
Sounds straightforward enough, right? These are the words that America was founded on; the Declaration is the backbone of everything we stand for! Well, think again because everything is politically charged these days and "liberal" NPR can't even tweet out our Founding Fathers' words without appearing to be anti-Trump.
Replies to NPR's Declaration tweets started pouring in almost immediately on July 4, and while some of them came from people applauding the station, others came from people who were apparently confused about what NPR was talking about. This was particularly apparent in the responses to NPR's tweets quoting the Declaration's harsh words against tyranny and King George's unfair ruling of the colonies.
Some tweeted at NPR saying that this is why the program is getting defunded. Others took the tweets out of context and assumed NPR was talking about President Trump when it tweeted the partial quote, "totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation." Still, even more thought this was a move on NPR's part to start a revolution, which isn't very patriotic (despite the fact that our country came from the rubble of the REVOLUTIONARY WAR, but I digress).
Out of curiosity, what is considered patriotic? Maybe it's dancing to Drake, who is a Canadian citizen with access to universal health care. Or it could be agreeing to a multi-million dollar settlement after you tried to sell people a hollow American dream. Then again, maybe patriotism is as simple as getting attacked by a bald eagle.