Guantánamo Bay. The Valerie Plame affair. Waterboarding. The Iraq War.

These are just several follies that show former President George W. Bush’s administration was more interested in using the Constitution for an elementary school papier-mâché project than revering it.

These reckless behaviors surfaced because of our free press.

Sen. Arlen Specter, D – Pa., introduced the Free Flow of Information Act into the Senate this year. The House of Representatives passed it in 2007, while the Bush administration vigorously opposed this act.

A summary written by the Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan institution affiliated with the Library of Congress, said this act “prohibits a federal entity from compelling a covered person (journalists and their employers, etc.) to testify or produce any document relating to protected information unless a court makes specified determinations by a preponderance of the evidence.”

If testimony takes place, the “content of compelled testimony or documents [is] to be limited and narrowly tailored.”

Former New York Times journalist Judith Miller possessed information regarding the Valerie Plame affair. In 2005, a grand jury called her to testify – she refused and was sentenced to four months in prison.

The court jailed her on civil contempt charges, or more plainly, she respected a confidentiality agreement she made with a source and chose not to disclose that person.

The First Amendment guarantees this country a free press. How did Miller’s situation happen in this country?

If journalists cannot report without fear of retribution, the truth will never get out. This college newspaper would be nothing more than ASU propaganda and our national newspapers would reek of praise for Congress and President Barack Obama.

A free press helps a society progress; it helps a country fulfill its potential. Our government improves only when we possess accurate information. The Bush administration jailed journalists, and thus, hindered this nation’s progress. Obama campaigned on change and transparency in Washington but only a free press will hold him to his word.

After eight years of secrecy and abuse, I am ready for translucency.

Passing the Free Flow of Information Act is the only way to accomplish this. Not only does it protect journalists and reporters, but also assures the American people will receive the truth.

Our country’s future depends on this legislation. Its passage guarantees that better days lie ahead; its defeat could lead to the regression that we have experienced the past eight years.

Reach Andrew at andrew.hedlund@asu.edu.