That is a stretch. I would suggest a more clear reading - 'that every man be capable of receiving papers' means that government limit its power to censor the news and 'that every man be capable of reading them' means government investment in literacy.
That is a stretch. I would suggest a more clear reading - 'that every man be capable of receiving papers' means that government limit its power to censor the news and 'that every man be capable of reading them' means government investment in literacy.
But the point I'm "stretching" for is that Jefferson clearly counted on the press being capable of reaching the citizens. I think it is safe to argue that the primary press does not reach much of our population. At least not the way it did for most of my life (as a side effect of the advertising function). Is that a problem? I suspect it is. Certainly, the journalism profession seems to think so.
Would a press voucher help? Maybe. Worth discussion, I think.
And, or course, I'm sure he would be in favor of literacy.
That is a stretch. I would suggest a more clear reading - 'that every man be capable of receiving papers' means that government limit its power to censor the news and 'that every man be capable of reading them' means government investment in literacy.
Stretch? Maybe so.
But the point I'm "stretching" for is that Jefferson clearly counted on the press being capable of reaching the citizens. I think it is safe to argue that the primary press does not reach much of our population. At least not the way it did for most of my life (as a side effect of the advertising function). Is that a problem? I suspect it is. Certainly, the journalism profession seems to think so.
Would a press voucher help? Maybe. Worth discussion, I think.
And, or course, I'm sure he would be in favor of literacy.