Be thankful for courageous patriots who will not be silenced

Monday, Feb. 6, 2017 | 2 a.m.

In defiance of a presidential administration that trades in alternative facts, some federal government authorities are making sure the truth gets out.

And to do it, they’re squaring off against President Donald Trump in his virtual backyard — Twitter.

To those who have launched alt-Twitter accounts for dozens of government offices in recent weeks, we offer a salute. These individuals are true patriots, committed to ensuring that Americans continue to have a clear channel to facts, figures and other information from government experts.

Yes, we know: Some of the alt-Twitter accounts weren’t set up by federal workers, but by activists and journalists who support them.

But that doesn’t make them any less valuable. The accounts allow government employees to channel info around the White House and directly to the public.

That’s crucial with Trump and his cronies now in power.

The president’s unpredictability and fringe-right stances on regulations create a threat that credible, accurate government information will be squelched. And that’s a nice way to put it. At worst, a president who contends it stopped raining when he began his inaugural speech — despite visible evidence to the contrary — makes the mind reel about what type of information might start coming from the federal government.

Granted, early reports that Trump had placed a gag order on the Environmental Protection Agency mischaracterized the situation. But there’s clearly reason for concern, which is why it’s so reassuring that the alt-Twitter accounts have been established.

With some of his early actions, it’s obvious that Trump is intentionally creating a chilling effect on government officials who might disagree with him or present views different than his own. His press secretary, Sean Spicer, has said that diplomats and other government officials — or “career bureaucrats,” as he dismissively referred to them — could “get with the program or they can go.” Trump put his money where Spicer’s mouth was by firing acting Attorney General Sally Yates when she refused to enforce his travel ban.

In that kind of environment, issuing information that would run counter to the administration’s alternative facts would seem to amount to career suicide.

So again, here’s a hand to those who have launched the alt-Twitter accounts. The same goes for White House staffers who are leaking information to the media and former officials who are speaking out about Trump’s alarming tactics. One such official was Tom Countryman, who spent 35 years working for both Republican and Democratic presidents as a diplomat before being forced out by the Trump gang.

In an interview with NPR, Countryman described a president who had gone into frightening territory by not conferring with State Department professionals on the travel ban and by not giving assurances that he would take input.

“The response you would hope for from the White House is to reaffirm what every other president and secretary of state has done, which is to say there is no retribution against people who might privately express dissent,” Countryman said.

That’s how government should work. The right answer always comes from a robust dialogue, which is driven by constructive and well-intentioned disagreement. Trump’s team is demanding blind allegiance to its alternative facts and extremist policies, and confusing people whose opinions differ from the president as betrayers. This is unacceptable.

Patriotism comes in a lot of different forms in the U.S., which is one of the most extraordinary aspects of our nation. As government officials and others are proving now, sometimes the most patriotic Americans are the ones voicing dissent and resistance in the defense of our democracy.