September 2002

Why You So Quiet?

A significant danger to the viability of any Government is secrecy. Certainly, a government must protect it's security through secrecy, yet the culture of secrecy can lead an administration to decisions which tamper with the very foundations of democracy. This tendency, quite common in local and federal government today, is a greater danger than terrorism and recession combined. For, if our government evolves into something not worth having, no amount of peace or prosperity can fix it.

Open government makes for honest government. People in power have ample opportunity to do things in anonymity. And in that anonymity lies a corrupting impunity. Presidential Administrations hide behind legal protections either real or imagined, and go to great lengths to prove your treason for looking behind the curtain.

Whatever the motivation for this type of governance, whether it be deep moral conviction or just a power grab-an effort to stay in office- it's contrary to the spirit of democracy. A democracy is a government of the people by the people. When the government crosses the line from ensuring reasonable security to acting behind closed doors on every issue possible, that is when it crosses over from democracy to despotic rule.

Hiding behind the law after you break it, or making information unavailable to the people is the act of a criminal. Or, you at least appear to be hiding a crime. It's not so much that government MUST give us all the information, we want an honest government with nothing to hide. When the populace feels that it cannot trust our government our security has been compromised. In essence, then, overtly secretive governance destroys the security that it claims to be so closely safeguarding.

Our lofty dreams of perfect governments will never be fulfilled. Such is contrary to human nature and genuine difference on opinion. Still, those who hold elected office are responsible to us, and reflect who we are back on us as well. If we cannot hold our current government responsible for its actions, then what can we expect from the next, and the one after that? As citizens of a democracy, it is our duty and privilege to demand a change in our government, if so needed, through the ballot box. And if insular power-hungry groups manage to subvert this guaranteed right of the American people, we are living in tyranny. Security becomes a pathetic and transparent excuse. One, that as citizens of a democracy, we should refuse to accept.

A good man once said, "Character is defined by what you do when no one if looking." That applies to individuals as well as governments. And if you prevent the people from looking, then your character is absolutely corrupted, especially when your duty is to those same people. The more a government attempts to hide it's actions, the more obvious it is that they have something to hide. If we continue to let them hide behind questionable laws that protect their actions from our eyes-not to mention the blatant ignoring of other laws and decisions of the courts-- then we cannot complain when the world goes to the dogs. We need to remember that we have the right, and power, to demand anything from our government, as ultimately we are our government.