by Donald Finley

Created on: May 29, 2009

There is no question that government secrecy makes us safer. How could anyone disagree? Paying taxes doesn't entitle you to know government secrets. Just because you want to know doesn't mean you need to know, and even needing to know doesn't make you responsible enough to be told.

Security clearances are not trivial matters. They exist for a reason, and that reason is to limit the spread of sensitive information, as well as to ensure those with access to such information can be trusted to handle it appropriately.

It's not for gossip around the water cooler, or for the front page of newspapers. A security clearance requires background checks and interviews to determine trustworthiness. Unfortunately, there have been a number of cases where even those deemed trustworthy have leaked classified information to the press, and the result has been a front page story. In every one of those cases, the law was violated, and it's very likely that treason was committed.

The responsibility accepted by the media for what they report is reason enough for even more secrecy in government. Freedom of the press, for some reason, fails to recognize national security information, and has often done grave damage to government efforts to make us safer. Look at the wiretapping accusations. The government was listening in on overseas calls to the mainland U.S. to try to locate terrorist cells within our own borders. It was quite effective until the press found out. Then, all the terrorist cells knew what was happening, and stopped using phones to communicate. What was the hype over? Invasion of privacy. That's a right, but which right is greater, the individual right to privacy, or the right of a nation to take the appropriate actions to protect its citizens? Perhaps if you have something you fear the government discovering, then maybe that's exactly something the authorities should know about.

Conspiracy theorists believe secrecy is part of a grand plan to do something evil, and anyone in government is part of it. The American Civil Liberties Union has advocated personal privacy and individual rights over government responsibilities to protect American citizens for decades. If there is a conspiracy, it's the ACLU's doing, in league with unscrupulous media figures, corrupt judges, and dishonest politicians. Those in government, from the military to the alphabet agencies, are in the vast majority good people doing their best in the face of shrinking budgets, court imposed regulation,

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