The trench warfare of WWI saw some of the most grueling and depraved conditions seen in modern warfare. Conditions were abysmal and static as one side, hunkered in a wet dugout, would lob grenades and mustard-gas attacks into “no-man's land” and eventually into the opposing trench.

Meanwhile, the conditions surrounding the press have prompted some, such as CNN contributor Jim Holt, to compare the two environments, war and journalism. Yes, just like Trump’s ‘personal Vietnam,’ the press are the guardians of our freedoms and in just as much danger as those defending our freedom overseas.

Let’s be serious.

Just last week, an 81-year-old, MAGA-toting American, was assaulted in New Jersey by a 19-year old aggressor, apparently over his red hat. A few weeks prior, a young man working with TPUSA was physically assaulted on the U.C. Berkeley campus at his recruiting table which criticized ‘hate crime hoaxes.’ Last week, largely unreported, a man in Massachusetts was assaulted for his red hat by an illegal immigrant. Will these stories be granted the publicity that a hoax story, Jussie Smollett’s claim, was? We’ll find out in the coming days and weeks.

Courageously running into stories like these, like a battle or a raging fire, is the media. Headlines backing Smollett’s claim surfaced quickly, while outlets like Newsweek delivered soft headlines that cast doubt onto clear video evidence. Can the media, amid slanted journalism like this, hope to claim the valor that is bestowed upon returning soldiers? Let’s revisit trench warfare.

It is true that the media, left and right, are in fact, entrenched within their own respective fronts. They are hunkered down in their murky, dogmatic holes, launching attacks of headlines and sound-bytes at the other side. Similarly still, there is an incentive in hurling the most decisively destructive attacks into the other camp; to demoralize and dismantle the enemy.

The war metaphor continues to hold. There is certainly a “no-man’s land” of unclaimed, disputed territory between both sides where no reporter doth tread. Any infantryman brave enough to breach the protective edge of his trench and make a dash to the center in an effort to report impartially is immediately struck down by a proverbial land-mine. As in, this reporting doesn't drive clicks or outrage so it goes nowhere.

Caught in the crossfire of all this barbarism is the public, who try as they might to glom onto that elusive middle, libertarian ground where some truth might be found.

Unfortunately, the left is much more tactical and effective in their warfare, in that they are winning the war on our ears.

How do we advance our defense from the right? More importantly, how do both sides come together and sign a treaty that ends the war? I’d like to push the metaphor further and see whether it can yield any answers.

What ended the trench warfare of WWI? Tanks, I suppose. Mr. Tanner Holman, correct me if I’m wrong. Does that help solve our problem? Tanks provided an armored way to cross trenches while small groups of infantry launched ground attacks.

If our goal is to cross the political divide and join together over civility, no artillery would be necessary; only a strong defense via the elements of armor: Let our breastplate be righteousness, our belt be truth, our boots, peace, and our shield, faith. The only sword necessary is the Spirit, who works in hearts, not merely the words of reporters.

The press, while an integral part of our American experience, was never meant to shill for one party or one point of view. When we use the war analogy as a lens through which to examine the situation, we apprehend that the difference between a soldier and a reporter is this: one is in service of his fellow man, and the other is in service of himself. At least in 2019.

To grow into the mantle which reporters have liked to don, they will have to adjust their strategy in addressing their citizenry. Frauds like Smollett need to be called out, while all genuine instances of violence, such as the recent attacks on Hayden Williams at Berkeley, the elderly man in New Jersey, or the victim in Massachusetts, need to be highlighted. Members of the media, unbiased truth will be your bonafide valor.