Sunshine Week is commemorated nationally this week to remind people about the importance of open government and freedom of information. <\/p>\n
It is to promote an appreciation for the powerfully simple words of the First Amendment: \"Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ...\" <\/p>\n
Those freedoms are what separate citizens of the United States from the victims of totalitarian societies around the globe. Those freedoms must never be taken for granted. <\/p>\n
They also must be guarded constantly, because efforts to chip away at those freedoms never cease. <\/p>\n
Federal and state laws guarantee public access to government information, but seeing that the laws are adhered to and not watered down is an uphill fight that never ends in communities all across America. <\/p>\n
Sunshine Week began in 2002 in Florida as part of a fight to kill hundreds of new exemptions to the state's public records law. Other states followed, and now a broad base of organizations nationwide cooperate to keep this important issue in front of the public. It coincides with James Madison's birthday on March 16. <\/p>\n
The American Society of Newspaper Editors originally coordinated Sunshine Week, and is now joined by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. But the list of other participants shows that freedom of information is far from a newspaper or media concern. It is a concern for civic groups, libraries, archives and nonprofits. <\/p>\n
Freedom of information also must be important to every citizen. <\/p>\n
The public needs to know how government money is raised and spent. It must have public information to judge job performances by police, bureaucrats and elected leaders. <\/p>\n
But most of all the public needs facts. As a society, we need to do more digging to make decisions, rather than believe whatever is being passed around on emails, blogs or slanted talk-shows on radio and television. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\nInformation freedom offers power to people<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"