Meet the Press. Please

Ignoring questions doesn't make them go away.

   The president of the United States is due back from his eight-day trip to the Middle East and Europe, and one wonders when, whether or even if he will hold a press conference to explain his accomplishments and goals.
   He has not spoken directly to journalists all week, and one wonders why. One defensive claim from his team is that he has been too busy.
   Too busy to chat with representatives of the American people?
   C'mon, Big Guy. Ignoring the questions doesn't make them go away, much as you might want them to. And cancelling daily news briefings by your designated spokesman, as you have threatened, won't work either.
   Journalists ask questions on behalf of the American people. To ignore the press is to ignore the American people.
   A reality is that news media folk don't work for you, so you can't fire them. Rather, it's the other way around. Just like any other elected person or representative, you work for the people.
   And citizens can say to elected officials, "You're fired."

   "We, the people of the United States of America," did this once before in 1776. And in case you have forgotten your high school history course (or were you not paying attention then, either?) let this be a reminder.
   "Whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive" of certain unalienable rights, "it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government."
   You, of course, have the right to remain silent in the face of these questions. But journalists, members of Congress and prosecutors have the right -- indeed, the obligation -- to ask questions, to probe through alibis, excuses and "alternative facts" to document truth and expose abuses, manipulations and lies.
   The alternative would be for the American people, their elected representatives and professional news gatherers to "sit down and be quiet."
   It doesn't work that way. We don't work for you. In America, it's the other way around.
   Ordering reporters won't stop them from digging. Rather, they view that as a challenge, prompting them to dig even faster and deeper.
   Meet the press, Mr. President, and answer their questions. Refusing to do so only means you're hiding something, and diligent reporters will find wrongdoings on behalf of the American public, and describe them.
   Get used to it. We the people will not meekly sit down. We will not shut up, and the questions will not go away.
   That's the way the American political game is played, and if you don't like it, you're free to quit.
   Or be fired. That's in the Constitution also. Look it up.