“Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made.”
Otto von Bismarck
Such reasoning is often the predisposition of most when it comes to the workings of government. It is assumed that it’s an ugly process, and not necessarily something many would enjoy observing close up, CSPAN aside. And while I have little interest in watching my Johnsonville sausage links being produced, I do want someone to be watching what goes in the hopper before it’s all ground up beyond recognition. The last thing you want is your sausage maker telling you “Trust me… it’s all good!” …. Well, actually the last thing you want is a politician telling you that.
Of all the things that have come up with Hillary Clinton; Whitewater, Travelgate, Hillarycare, the “vast right wing conspiracy”, Vince Foster, Benghazi…; it is surprising that this e-mail debacle seems to be the one that the press and the public seem to care about. Don’t get me wrong, it’s kind of a big deal, but so were those other things. I guess this scandal is one that defies any reasonable explanation except the obvious one… secrets. As Hillary’s attempt at explaining it away served to demonstrate, no amount of air freshener can make this not smell foul, and nobody is buying it. When the sausage smells funky, that’s when you begin to wonder what’s in it, and just that wondering might be enough to lose you as a customer. A politician doesn’t need to be caught red handed to lose electability; like sausage, they just need to seem a little slimy… and that’s how Hillary came off at her presser. If the dripping faucet of Ms. Clinton’s apparent secrecy continues, it may spell the eventual toppling of the one basket the Democrats have put all their eggs in for 2016. If they decide to hedge their bets with Elizabeth Warren or Grampa Biden, they may be their own undoing.
What was once governmental “sausage making”, has become “sausage making in the dark”. Routinely now, the details of laws or regulation are kept secret from the public, and sometimes even from the legislators, until after they are passed. From Obamacare, which Nancy Pelosi told us we would need to enact so we could see what was in it, to the recent Net Neutrality regulations which were intentionally kept secret until after the decision was made by the FCC commissioners, to the nuclear negotiations with Iran which we underlings will only be made aware of after the President has signed the agreement– our government has become that acquaintance who refuses to tell us what is in a dish until after we have swallowed it. Dare I state the obvious, if someone deems it necessary to keep secret from you the ingredients of what you are consuming, it’s probably something you’d ordinarily choose not to swallow… insects, worms, testicles… tyranny.
Even in a free and open society, there is occasion for confidentiality. Military secrets, covert operations and intelligence, top secret documents that cannot be shared publicly, these are necessary evils for the common good. Just the same, there should always be an inspector at the “sausage factory”, oversight, accountability; no one in government should be the arbiter of their own secrets, and when they cast themselves in that role all kinds of alarms should be raised.
IMHO: Justice Louis Brandeis said, “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.” Too long we have allowed ourselves to be restricted to the shadows. Like the duped spouse of the philanderer, we have permitted ourselves to be cowed by our abusers, castigated when we do not trust them, as though we were the ones deficient for wanting to open the shades or turn on the lights. For those who prefer closed doors, darkened rooms, secret meetings… private e-mails; let them find more suitable occupations. Our government should operate in the light of day.
