by Zach Bigalke

Created on: February 13, 2008

A government, if borne of liberty and secured with societal freedoms, is designed to serve its citizenry. If the government has secrets to protect, it is inherently going against the stated mission by which it receives its legitimacy. No country can continue to serve its public if it fails to have its trust. And subterfuge serves no purpose save hiding the indiscretions of those in power...

Take an example from the year in American sports. Take most ANY example from the year in American sports. Marion Jones, once the gilded sprinting starlet who captured the hearts and joy of the American public, now serves a six-month jail sentence. Her crime? Perjury, hiding the secret of the steroid use which allowed her to capture her Olympic golds. Roger Clemens speaks before Congress today along with his former trainer, Brian McNamee. One or the other is lying, possibly hiding secrets about the use of human growth hormone and steroids. Former teammate Andy Pettitte has admitted to McNamee's HGH injections and is facing nearly no heat for his indiscretions...

And, the team known for the biggest stories this season, the NFL's villainous New England Patriots, perpetually faced questions and criticisms about their videotaping of opposing teams' defensive signals even as they ran off eighteen consecutive victories before falling the the giant-killing Giants from East Rutherford. They, the NFL and its commissioner, Roger Goodell, all are guilty of harboring nefarious secrets which could potentially taint the thrice-crowned Patriots and their sustained dominance in professional football.

Freedom of information is an essential liberty in the United States, and in any government deigning to serve the public rather than merely lording over a terrified group of eunuchs. A government's most laudable goal is to serve the will of the people; without all the facts before it, the populace reverts to mere cattle. It is a frightening spiral which allows the government to overstep its checks and balances... secrets breed more secrecy, and this privileged knowledge separates a society into castes of those in the circle and those outside. We as a public are merely grazing, awaiting the time until the ranchers we call our government lead us to slaughter, if we are prevented the information about how we are being led...

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