One of my pet peeves is the lack of communication that exists seemingly everywhere. What good is our democracy if only a few are allowed to participate?
Two stories in Sunday’s Virginian-Pilot point out the glaring lack of sharing of information. The first one, Open & Shut, appeared on the front page above the fold, with the words DENIED in large, bold print. The article points out that many localities do not comply with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. Keeping the citizens in the dark is one way of controlling the populace. Is ignorance bliss?
The second story was about the lack of information provided to the Virginia Beach city council on the proposed $4 billion development deal with a South Korean business. Councilman Bob Dyer, who is quickly becoming one of my favorites at the Beach, raised the issue in two emails to the finance director. “How are we to respond to press inquiries on a major story when you neglect to keep council in the loop?” was the question Dyer asked. How indeed, Mr. Dyer.
Those who refrain from sharing information do so for one reason and one reason only: power. Remember when you were in grade school and some kid came up to you and said “I know something you don’t know” with a smirk on his or her face? It’s this childishness on steroids that keeps those “in the know” from sharing information with everybody else.
I have often asked members of the Norfolk City Council to share the vision of what they have for the city with its residents. Most of the time, they present things to us as a fait accompli, and we have no input in the decision. Perhaps if they laid out the grand plan, we would understand a bit better what looks like a hodge-podge of ideas on development.
Most of the bylaws of businesses and other organizations require that executive committee decisions be ratified by the full board. (Like the FOIA, some of those things are exempt.) The board has responsibility for the organization, and keeping things from them opens them up to potential liability. Businesses learned long ago that getting a full buy-in from employees for management’s ideas simply made sense. It is the reason why budgets are now done from the bottom up instead of top down.
In politics and anything peripherally affected by politics, this idea of keeping people out of the loop permeates everything. Decisions get made with no discussion on a regular basis. Things happen and only a few know why. New people are brought into the loop if and only if they agree to abide by the standards of secrecy. The rest are left on the outside, throwing rocks.
As long as communication is limited, there will be no equal playing field. As long as backroom deals are secretly made, there will be no seat at the table for those with different points of view.
I ask again: what good is our democracy if only a few are allowed to participate?
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
When people keep info to themsleves, they think they are keeping power. In the short term, yes, but in the long term it is a failure of vision, leadership and trust. I recently used to work for a guy exactly like this (thankfully he is gone and the new boss is GREAT about sharing info).
I do agree, as well, that Bob Dyer is great. He is my favorite member of council. Be a Republican or Democrat, you have to agree that he thins of the city first and that he does not treat his job as some sort of political stepping stone. Refreshing, isn’t it. Ironic that the less you care about where else you could run for office, the better you are in your current one… Making people hope you run for another.
Keep it up, Bob!
I don’t know about all that.
Sometimes, keeping the doors closed keeps out the politicking — which at times can be extremely helpful when the end result is a united front. For instance, locking the doors to a Middle East peace conference is a good idea. Papal conclaves. Budget negotiations at the statehouse. An “airing of grievances” sort of meeting.
Negotiation and moderation are done best where people can relax and feel honest without being scrutinized so heavily.
Other instances I can think of are when people are coming to a decision on something, personal information, etc.
I think the line gets drawn somewhere (where my taxes are spent for instance), but I don’t see how a little bit of privacy hurts, unless it’s to CYA (which by and large most instances of information withholding are).
Don’t get me wrong — I’m all about “government in the sunshine”, but sometimes the cure can be worse than the disease. I’d rather suffer a little bit of incompetence rather than suffer a government that locks up at the very moment when it should deliberate.
Rambling thoughts….
I acknowledged that sometimes there is a need for privacy. My problem is that it often extends much too far Even you said, Shaun, by and large most instances of information withholding are for purposes of CYA. The cynic in me says that the reasons for doing so are even more sinister than that.
There are times, as you noted, that the doors need to be closed. But those are the exception, not the rule. Or should be.
I was proud to see Portsmouth rated so highly by the article. An open and accessible government is less likely to be hammered by the populace. “Hiding” breeds an idea of corruption.
One of my favorite blurbs is “perception is reality”. If I perceive something is amiss, until I am shown otherwise, something is amiss.
Good read Ms. Paige.
Vivian, What you have written is, as usual, incredibly astute. I wish I had your talents. I just read your post on RK and came here to read what you’ve said about the problems when communication of information is withheld. Communication is a powerful art and tool. And in a democracy, especially at the political level, the withholding of information is incredibly dangerous. We only do ourselves in as a Party (Dem) when information is withheld.
And you are absolutely correct in your cynical instincts.
Thanks once again for a great post.
Thanks for the kind words. Here is the diary over at RK that Sleepless refers to.
Scott, Your axiom is wonderful. Unfortunately too many folks don’t exercise critical thinking enough. It’s a skill that’s not easily come by but when used is invaluable. Thank you for sharing that.