Should you lose your job for celebrating the lives and courage of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Jeff Jacoby did.
On July 14th he was suspended without pay for writing a column about the fate of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Why? Can’t the liberal Boston Globe tolerate a conservative celebrating those who fought for our freedom?
The Globe claims that because Jacoby failed to mention that others have covered this topic before, he committed a breach of journalistic ethics.
Yep, Jeff Jacoby is not the first person to celebrate the willingness of the Founders to lay their lives, fortunes and sacred honor on the line. So hang him.
Political columnists of every ideological stripe tend to revisit the same themes over and over again. They’ve all still got their jobs, God bless ’em. Rush Limbaugh, Paul Harvey and yours truly are among the many who have written about the noble sacrifices of the men who signed the Declaration.
Jacoby points out that one bibliography on the subject shows works dating back to 1820. Even the Boston Globe agrees that Jacoby used his own words and his own research to write the piece. So what’s going on? Why is the good name of Jeff Jacoby being pointlessly poisoned? I have no idea. Nor do journalistic watchdogs from across the political spectrum. Why don’t you call the Boston Globe and ask them?
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.