Referring to the United States of America as “the land of the free” has never been a less accurate statement.

Each year, Reporters Without Borders ranks 180 countries in order of how well they safeguard press freedom.

The press advocacy group analyzes countries on criteria such as official abuse, and media independence in order to determine how free journalists are to report, according to an article by The Washington Times.

This year the United States suffered a steep drop in ranking due to various incidences that occurred within the last year.

The 2014 World Press Freedom Index ranked the United States in 46th place among the 180 countries surveyed. We fell 13 places since last year, which is one of the most significant declines in the history of the index, according to an article by New York Daily News.

Finland, the Netherlands and Norway are ranked as the top three freest nations for journalists. Countries such as Iran and North Korea are among the most restrictive for reporters, according to the 2014 World Press Freedom Index.

Despite President Barack Obama’s promise to run the ‘most transparent administration’ in the nation’s history, his handling of last year’s events has dragged the county to an all-time low.

The global survey justifies its ranking of the United States by citing a lengthy list of cases of abuse. On the list is the conviction of WikiLeaks’ informant Bradley (Chelsea) Manning, the Obama administration’s handling of Edward Snowden, and the National Security Agency leaks, as well as the Obama administration’s “increased efforts to track down whistleblowers and the sources of leaks,” according to the global survey index.

This index report should serve as a wake-up call for Americans who continue to pride themselves on being citizens of a democratic nation. The reality is that the United States is not a true democratic country.

This report marks a retreat our nation has made in the past year from democratic practices. The nation has begun to sacrifice freedom of information to an excessively vague and ill-informed interpretation of national security needs.

Some people reading these critiques on the conduct of the United States from the past year will insist the Obama administration took necessary actions to keep Americans safe.

Let’s entertain the idea that freedom of the press must be sacrificed to ensure national security by considering the countries that ranked highest on the 2014 Press Freedom Index: Finland, the Netherlands, and Norway. They do not discourage investigative journalism in order to defend “public safety.”

We can brag that as American citizens, we are freer than 47th-ranked Haiti. Yes, the poorest country in the Americas is ranked one place behind the United States.

So toss out the 2014 World Press Freedom Index, as well as your copy of the U.S. Constitution – the federal government already did under direct orders from the president. Instead, pick up a copy of George Orwell’s 1984, and read along: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery,” and most importantly, “Ignorance is strength.”

– Ashley Lynn Fisher is a junior English major from Gig Harbor. She can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of Student Publications.