Government Secrecy

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All governments engage in secrets – acts they wish to conceal; it is too easy to oversimplify the contract between honor in openness and the evils of secrecy. Excessive secrecy is the opponent of accountability and democratic openness. Regrettably, it is becoming the stand operation for public officials. President Nixon’s recent exposure to the Pentagon Paper points that an institutionalized campaign to withhold information about government activities from the American public. While Americans recognize the need to protect national security threads from inappropriate public disclosures which would damage national security, the misuse of such trust and the manipulation of information undermines the public’s right to identify undemocratic behaviors …show more content…

Government secrecy can include personal files of government employees, tax records of citizens, sensitive records, operations to limit crime, or acts to advance democracy or secure national integrity – such information should never be available to the media or the public. However, when the same government masks extensive police powers, the generation of mass surveillance systems, control the mass media, increase security that limits freedom and information and official accountability wither the government becomes guilty of deception of the public. Therefore, total transparency in a democracy is not suitable, governments need confidentiality from the public. In a post-Snowden age, broad regulations permitting governments to collect data – “The NSA is forbidden to 'target' American citizens, green-card holders or companies for surveillance without an individual warrant from a judge.” – without public knowledge and held in check by the same power that controls the program is unjustifiable. Secrecy is embedded in the partnerships of trust and respect within the public; power is also held on the basis of secrecy. It is more about the set the rules and has the power within that knowledge rather than the information itself. The truth behind the collection of data is unknown to many and may remain that way for some

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