2001 Third Prize Essay Winner

2001 Third Prize Essay Winner!

Freedom of Information: The Enhancement of Democracy

by Allison L. Holst-Grubbe

December 6, 2000

The residents of Connecticut have enjoyed the benefits of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act since its passage in 1975. Connecticut's FOI laws enable a citizen to attend meetings of public agencies and inspect or obtain copies of public records, including those of police arrests. Citizens may file complaints with the FOI Commission when such benefits have been denied them. However, FOI laws provide Connecticut residents with far more than these legal advantages. These laws enhance our democratic society by promoting the freedoms of speech and the press, by preventing government secrecy, and by preventing the ignorance of the governed. As James Madison posited, "a popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy. . .a people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."

Patrick Henry asserted that, "The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them ...." .Such liberties include the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. If the public is not honestly informed of the actions of their government, they are certainly unable to speak or write freely about governmental matters. A statement based on misinformation is hardly freely made. Connecticut's FOI laws prevent such misinformation in that they prevent the concealment of governmental wrongdoings, and hence prevent the wrongdoings themselves. In the Declaration of Independence, the American patriots clearly illustrated the value of public information in their verbal attack of King George III: "He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures." Such actions would be legally assailable today, further proving how FOI laws help to modernize democracy.

The FOI Act also enhances democracy in that it produces an informed and concerned populace. It aids in refuting the criticism of democracy as the rule of unenlightened masses, for as Thomas Jefferson said, "Whenever the people are well informed7 they can be trusted with their government, for whenever things go so far wrong to attract their notice, they can be relied on to set things right." Just as years of education ensure preparation for professional employment, citizens' knowledge of local government's practices and actions ensures an informed electorate.

In short, the significance of Connecticut's Freedom of Information laws is not found solely in the weekly police blotter or at local board of education meetings. Rather, the significance of the nearly six hundred complaints filed yearly with the FOI Commission is that Connecticut's citizens have become aware of their rights and are willing to demand them. They have learned the value of free public information in democracy; they have learned that the "consent of the governed" is more powerful when the governed are well informed.