Sentinel Watch January 10, 2011 Issue

Supporting journalists under fire

Abraham McLaughlin

In reading about a recent outburst of government-sanctioned persecution of journalists in Russia, Iran, and Turkey, a phrase from Mary Baker Eddy’s writings came to mind: “All that error asks is to be let alone; . . .” (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 211).

It struck me that perhaps the reason those journalists were running into official trouble—killings, beatings, prosecution, and more—was this: They were refusing to let error alone.

When done right, journalism helps expose and destroy errors engrafted in the consciousness of people, governments, and societies. This process is essential to individual and collective progress. And it’s why supporting good journalism—and the journalists who commit it—is a crucial way to expand our prayers and bless the world.

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