National Public Radio (NPR), America's even-handed media voice to the world, published in tweets the United States Declaration of Independence — on Independence Day no less — and many people nonsensically interpreted the commemoration as a display of political bias.
For almost 30 years, NPR has marked America's Independence Day by inviting a reporter or commentator to read on-air the document that gave birth to a nation; The Declaration of Independence and, this year, in adding some modernism to the mix, they went one step further and tweeted it.
People who support the administration of the current US president, Donald Trump — perhaps not understanding the significance of the document, or simply unwilling to learn — were by turns confused, offended and ready to take up arms of their own, according to a report by The Hill.
Trump supporters, critical of the wording and content of America's single most important document, described the language — and NPR's move to commemorate it live — as a demand "for revolution" and a call to "condone the violence."
But the many who are familiar with the wording of the then-unprecedented blueprint for a democratic state published on July 4, 1776, openly mocked those who criticized the network for its tribute.
— NPR (@NPR) July 4, 2017
Some twitterers, however just wanted to make incendiary statements for the attention:
— Darren Mills 🇺🇸 (@darren_mills) July 4, 2017
Others took the long and humorous view:
— Josh Billinson (@jbillinson) July 5, 2017
It is estimated that some 200 copies of the Declaration of Independence were printed in its first publication, although just one original copy exists today, in the National Archives in Washington DC.
