John,

Finding courage in times of strife can be hard. Too often, public officials, businesses, and others choose to stay silent and complicit.

We’ve seen the latter a lot in recent months as our country experiences an escalating constitutional crisis and concentration of power around the president. In this environment, standing up for our Constitution, the rule of law, and democratic values and norms takes courage — especially as threats to status, funding, and more are lobbed at those who choose to stand up for our institutions.

Take for instance the Pentagon reporters who turned in their press access badges for refusing to sign a pledge at the behest of Sec. Pete Hegseth that would have prevented them from soliciting or obtaining any information that the Department of Defense has not explicitly authorized. [1] According to the document, a violation of this procedure would be a criminal act and wouldn’t be protected under the First Amendment. Rather than accept a deal that would have dramatically undermined freedom of the press, dozens of journalists rejected the new policy and left the Pentagon in unison.

That takes guts. But these reporters ultimately understood that if they didn’t reject this intimidation, it would dramatically weaken Americans’ capacity to hold power to account.

Stories like this one are so important to tell and uplift when our system is under threat.

That’s why Issue One just launched a monthly series, Profiles in Constitutional Courage and Cowardice. This series seeks to document the public officials, business leaders, and institutions that refuse to bow to intimidation at a time when democratic institutions are under increasing strain, contrasted with instances of capitulation and complicity that erode the norms and guardrails of a free society.

We urge you to check out the first edition to read more about who we’re giving kudos to, and who we call out for their cowardice.

In Solidarity,
The Issue One Team

P.S. Make sure to subscribe to Issue One’s Substack to get future posts delivered straight to your inbox!

^{[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/09/19/pentagon-hegseth-press-unauthorized-material/}