For journalists, scientists, educators and all truth tellers, these are times that try the soul.

The enemies of truth have always been around, mostly hiding in the tall grass. But the dawning of the information age, which has spread powerful technology to users who by and large remain information illiterate, is prompting a full-out attacked from these predators on all sides.

They’re coming from the political extremes. They’re coming from government and institutions. They’re coming from wealthy special interests. They’re coming from the people oppressed by all these groups by spreading fear — fear of others who might not look like, live like, think like or worship like themselves.

These oppressors manipulate corrupt media to point to the truth tellers for blame, because, censorship is the tool of those who have the need to hide actualities from themselves and from others, the American poet Charles Bukowski wrote.

Journalists can see this happening in science and education, and we’re living it now every day, at every level of mainstream media. It used to be limited to the so-called “elites” — the big media outlets, but suddenly it is now happening every day at every traditional media operation, including this newspaper.

This turning against any and all traditional media, including the local newspaper, is Orwellian in its scope and suddenness. Yet George Orwell himself wrote the tendency has always been there:

“All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome.”

What it comes down to is people are hearing things they don’t like, much of it from the internet and most of it nonsense and grouping all media together because of their information illiteracy.

Because of the creation of a new medium, the digital medium, it’s difficult to know what will happen to the tellers of truth in the future, but readers of this newspaper should know this: We’re not going to back down from this attack. We will stand fast in reporting factual news and truth. Reporting local news based in fact will be our defense.

“Facts are stubborn things,” said John Adams, who before he was a founding father and president successfully defended British soldiers charged with murder in the Boston Massacre. “Whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

We will continue to report the news in this area without respect to any oppressors or our own personal feelings. Our defense is the First Amendment.