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Pensacola News Journal Your right to know is fundamental to freedom Despite the law and the principles underpinning the foundations of this nation — that people’s inherent rights supersede the authority of government — our government is increasingly acting as if citizens have no right to know what is being done in their name, and with their tax dollars. That is wrong, both morally and legally. It is why the Pensacola News Journal is joining two other Gannett newspapers in Florida in suing for the release of records showing how the Federal Emergency Management Agency has spent federal dollars allocated for hurricane relief in Florida. Those records might help explain why millions of dollars were funneled to counties that did not experience a hurricane last year. “These are taxpayer dollars, and this information should be available to the public,” said Executive Editor Randy Hammer. “But FEMA isn’t providing it.” So news organizations are having to ask a federal judge to force the federal government to obey federal law. It unfortunately reflects the growing contempt with which the government too often views the public’s right to see public records. And when it isn’t withholding them, it is delaying their release with little or no justification. The problem has gotten so bad that a bipartisan effort is underway to force the government to stop hiding information from the people it is supposed to serve. A Republican U.S. senator from Texas has joined a Democratic senator from Vermont in filing the OPEN Government Act of 2005 to speed the release of information sought in Freedom of Information Act requests. That law requires the government to release many records, but it is delaying too many releases by months and even years. The bill is supported by prominent organizations on both the right and the left, including the Heritage Foundation and the ACLU. Their support underscores how widely this threat is being recognized. The Constitution of the United States sits squarely upon the foundational idea that people have inherent rights, and that government’s main duty is to protect those rights. A central right of any free people is to have a government accountable to them. But a government that can hide its actions from its people is not accountable. And a government that can hide its actions is dangerous. Throughout history, governments — elected or otherwise — have shown a consistent inclination to abuse their power. One of their most powerful tools is secrecy. Yes, some secrets must be protected. But security is brandished too often as an excuse to hide records of all kinds. There clearly is no connection between national security and the distribution of hurricane relief funds. Beginning today is the annual “Sunshine Week,” begun by newspapers and other advocates for open government to spotlight the threats to our right to know what our government is doing in our name. Freedom is the ultimate defense against tyranny. But we can’t be free if our rights are denied us.
Reproduced courtesy of the Pensacola News Journal. |
