…imagine my dismay when this very stiff-upper-lip Englishman contacted me recently…

By Stephen Golub, Benicia resident and author. July 6, 2025. [First published in the Benicia Herald on 7/4/25.]

Pete (not his real name) is a Brit I met 50 years ago during college and have been close friends with ever since. After graduation, he went on to a career as an international journalist, risking his life in war-torn situations from Lebanon to the former Soviet Union and beyond, as well as covering countless violent demonstrations.

I recall his calmly telling tales of mortar explosions and other such threats narrowly missing him. There’s not much that scares the guy.

And he certainly knows how to assess threats. Years ago, he cautioned me to steer clear of a particular hotel in a Middle Eastern capital during a consulting trip I was undertaking. A month later, a terrorist bomb took numerous lives there.

So, imagine my dismay when this very stiff-upper-lip Englishman contacted me recently to let me know that he was concerned about something I was doing that might put him at risk.

What could that be, you might well wonder? How could I, ensconced in bucolic Benicia, pose any kind of hazard to Pete, who lives thousands of miles away?

I was sending him news articles. More specifically, I was electronically sharing occasional updates and analyses I thought he might appreciate, something I’d been doing since email became an option. More specifically yet, some of the news items and analyses were about U.S. democracy and the dangers it’s facing.

Why is Pete concerned? Because as you might know, the Trump Administration is sometimes examining the phones and social media feeds of visitors, to determine whether they contain items deemed terrorist-sympathizing or otherwise counter to our national security.

And as you wouldn’t know, Pete occasionally visits relatives in America. He’s worried, then, that upon arrival here he might have his phone examined by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection airport agent, who in turn could bar Pete’s entry (perhaps permanently) if they find something they don’t like.

Despite dodging rocks, bullets and bombs his entire career, Pete very understandably does not want to risk such searches – even though the items I’ve shared have simply ranged from academic analyses to the latest news about the Administration’s latest steps.

So I stopped.

Due to deadline constraints, I’m writing this on Thursday, before Benicia’s July 3rd parade. The timing seems appropriate, given what the 4th of July is about, and why Americans fought Pete’s home country and its king nearly 250 years ago: Freedom, starting with freedom to say what we want, free of fear. Freedom to be who we want to be. Freedom from the use of the military to suppress peaceful rallies. Freedom from a repressive, corrupt king who put his own financial and other interests above those of his people.

I’m also writing this as word comes in that by the 4th of July Trump will sign the bill, just passed by the House of Representatives today, that will award massive tax breaks to techno-billionaires and other extremely wealthy sorts, blow up our national debt by $3.3 trillion and deny health care coverage to well over 10 million Americans.

Perhaps I’ll delve into those horrid details some other time.
In the meantime, here’s to all the freedoms that Independence Day represents and that so many Americans have fought and even died for, including against foreign fascists like Putin and others with whom Trump is currently aligning himself.

And here’s to the hope that by next 4th of July we’ll be seeing more signs of light in our troubled skies, and that eventually Pete and the rest of us won’t have to think about what news we can or cannot safely share, read or store on our phones.

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CHECK OUT STEPHEN GOLUB’S BLOG, A PROMISED LAND

…and… here’s more Golub on the Benicia Independent