The right to Know?

I have the Right to Know

It is my government. I therefore have the right to know. I pay in so many ways to keep this government going. Taxes everywhere. I pay a tax on so many goods that I feel like it is an oppression on my ability to feed my family.

So I have the right to know. I want to know the plans to end this war. I want to know where the battles are and I want to punish the generals who screw up. I want to know how much is spent on weapons. I want to know where the caches of weapons are kept. I am the people and the people have the right to know.

This scenario could be used in any conflict and although it has some validity the truth of the matter is we do not have the right to know.

Did Washington have to explain why he crossed the Delaware?

Did Lee have to explain himself at the Battle of Gettysburg?

Did Teddy Roosevelt have to explain why he was the only man on horseback going up San Juan Hill?

Did Eisenhower have to tell when he was going to invade Europe and start D Day?

Did Truman have to explain why he fired his main general?

Somewhere along the line some politician took over the thought that he or she (probably he) had some rights to know things that were really secret. We have gotten to the paranoid stage in politics where an elected official sent to Washington thinks he has the right to information at the highest clearance level. Considering the level of the Congress as of late, I personally think that they should be kept out of the loop. Most of Congress appears not capable of keeping their mouths shut, their eyes on their real job and their pants zipped.

Sometimes that means the American public needs to be kept in the dark. Most of us with the knowledge of what we think we have to know would not have a clue on how to use it. Most of us want the government to run and stay out of our lives and in turn expect they will follow the rules and we can trust them enough to do their job. I dislike when someone looks over my shoulder and watches me do my job. Why therefore do I have to look over the shoulder of the people I select to do their job and threaten them with pulling their plug if I get displeased? Here is the real rub I expect people will screw up. Not every decision will be correct, not everything will turn out alright, and sometimes there will be a real screw up. Do I wish to punish people who make mistakes which may not even be there fault? I picked the people and they have enough pressure on them without me or my Congress second guess every move. Mistakes are part of life and sometimes they can be devastating. So what? It happens. Move on and stop spending so much time and money on what I do not know. If Clinton knew and the buck stops with her what do you want her to do? Resign, commit suicide, and pay the families out of her pocket? And that is if she really made a mistake. We can cause our own drama but we are just churning water for churning sake. Move on.

So do I have the right to know? And if I did know what can I do about it?