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February 08, 2008
The dark side of open government
Please don't misunderstand me. I am 100% for transparency and public involvement in government, from the local to the supranational.*
But a tragic story out of Kirkwood, Missouri illustrates that there is often a tradeoff involved. The problem isn't usually this severe, but I think we have all seen or known of citizens who attend council and commission meetings on a regular basis, and seem to tie up the public's business with a lot of noise -- most of it whining about how they are being unfairly treated in some way. It is right to grant these citizens the opportunity to address their representatives, of course. But how do we deal with the disruptiveness caused by the worst offenders without damaging our precious freedom?
And what do we do when the possibility exists that a session that is by definition open to the general public puts that public in extreme danger because of an individual bent on violence? The U.S. Capitol shootings of a few years back are another example, and there have been plenty of others.
This is all on some sort of scale, too. There are plenty of grey areas wherein one could be seen as complaining unnecessarily or "fighting the power structure," depending on viewpoint, background, experience....
Newscoma has some personal thoughts, based on experience.
*Hey, crazies. I'm talking about the EU, not the UN, nor anything that I am suggesting that the United States would ever be a part of. Unless, you know, we all change our minds.
There are no words | By joe lance | 09:21 AM