Norman — Every American citizen, young and old, recognizes the opening line of the Declaration of Independence. It begins, “When in the course of human events.” What events enraged the founding fathers to the point of declaring independence and establishing a new form of government?
The founding fathers could no longer withstand abuse at the hands of government workers, government power or government bureaucracy. The Declaration of Independence details those abuses.
Many of our friends, sons, daughters and grandchildren are stationed around the world fighting to keep people from being abused by their government. And here in Oklahoma we must be vigilant to protect against these abuses in our own state. Here are a few examples.
The founding fathers demanded to know exactly who works for government and they were frustrated by bureaucracy.
They were upset when the king “erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.” In today’s language, that means you have to go to lots of government offices and get the runaround to the point of madness.
In your Oklahoma legislature today, there is a bill that will close birth dates of government employees. That action will make it much more difficult to specifically identify who works for any local or state government office.
The founding fathers didn’t give a whit about invading the privacy of unidentified government workers. You have the ability to specifically identify all government employees now, but you will lose that right if this bill passes.
The founding fathers suffered government obstacles in getting to public meetings and accessing public records. It galled them when the king “called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records.”
In your Oklahoma legislature today, many bills restrict access to meetings or limit public access to records. One bill closes autopsy reports for as long as law enforcement wants to keep it secret. One bill eliminates criminal records of felons. Another bill allows the public to see a few law enforcement dashboard camera videotapes while restricting access to tapes the police don’t want us to see. Didn’t President Nixon try that?
Everybody remembers the cry of “taxation without representation.” But just this week the House of Representatives passed a bill to study tax reforms and incentives while exempting the task force from the open meeting and open records acts.
The founding fathers thought a free press would keep government power in check. When the press and public are hindered from identifying government workers, accessing records or attending meetings, we cannot fulfill our mission. But don’t cry for the press. Cry for your own rights, just as the founding fathers did.
As a people, we must demand our elected leaders give us more transparency in government — not less. If we avoid the government abuses found in the Declaration of Independence, our democracy will continue to be a beacon to all other governments of the world.
Knowing exactly who works for government and having transparency in government is a fundamental of democracy, not only in colonial times, but now. As a people, we must defend these basic principles today as we continue down the course of human events.
