Sparrow, Andrew. "Why Some Ministers and Officials Think Freedom of Information
Was a Mistake." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 22 June 0056.
Web. 23 Feb. 2012 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2009/jun/
24/freedom-of-information>.
As reference, please watch this short video with Obama speaking about FOIA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72g7qmeP1dE
In his article, quotes from different officials prove the inherent downsides to government transparency. Even if the government fulfills the promise of total transparency, the public may be harmed in the process. The laypeople of America may want access to every nook and cranny of the complex American government, but it has been proven that it just exists as a window of opportunity to attack the government. These flaws may not be good for the government, but when every crack is exposed to the public, they could lose faith in the government and stop supporting it, leading to anarchy. Although it would be nice to be able to know everything about our government, it's been shown that the public is not prepared to handle the overload of information and that transparency would cause more harm than good.
This was a very good con arguement about the tranparency of the American Government. I agree completly with you point that stated it would be nice to know everything that the government knows, but in reality, this causes more harm than good. I really enjoy reading your blog! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteI personally think your topic is very interesting. I like how you used a video it really helped in understanding this topic. I strongly agree with you in your argument. I agree that the public is not prepared to handle some information and that it would cause more harm than good. I think you have a good argument here, and I look forward to your future arguments. Great job!
ReplyDeleteNicely done. Transparency could go two ways for the con argument. One, people could take advantage of the information and use it against the government. Two, like you said, people could lose all faith in the government aNd turn against them causing complete anarchy. Good job analyzing the possible outcomes of transparency!
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