It Runs Down Hill

Is it ever okay for the county, city or schools to keep important information from citizens? If there is a line, who draws it and who decides when to exceed it? Is it dependent on what the information is or who it impacts?

We all know that there are times that desecration is the better part of valor. Sometimes, when a deal isn’t yet a deal, the less said the better. But, what if that deal impacts your property or your neighbor’s or your mother’s? Is your need to know more important than maybe busting up a maybe deal? The only thing that I know is that the answer depends on who you are talking to and just how impacting the information is to that person’s bottom line. The wiggle room seems to be more plentiful the further from the situation that you sit.

And then there are those situations that should be a no brainer. Does anyone have the right to keep information that could impact or impair health or safety? You would think that the answer would be simple but it appears to be much more a conundrum than it should be for those in positions of power. Is the drinking water safe? Is bat waste sliding down the walls? Is the Dam, either dam, solid enough to sustain a major event?

There has to be a line in the sand between what is necessary information and what is plausible to hold onto and the line should be drawn by someone with some practical reasoning skills. Because, let’s face it, it doesn’t matter if it is in the form of guano or something else, it all runs downhill. Shouldn’t we insist that we know it is coming, if for no other reason than to shut our eyes or out mouth against the onslaught?