OXFORD (AP) — Citizen democracy is gaining momentum across the country.
There is a newfound reawakening and a sense of citizen empowerment at the grass-roots level to make collective voices heard in policy decisions and to demand government transparency and accountability.
This citizen activism has been fueled in part by discontent and disillusionment with federal, state and local government to get things done, pervasive secrecy and a growing awareness that citizens can make a difference.
President Barack Obama tapped into this national mood and won with a 2008 campaign message of people working together to achieve change.
The Internet has played a major role in the rise of these citizen sunshine activists who are monitoring their state and local government activities and challenging secrecy.
The Internet not only has revolutionized our world in terms of information but also has become a powerful tool to mobilize people to become involved in the civic life of their communities, state and nation and to unify efforts to influence government policies.
To become involved and to act, people need information. But that’s a big hurdle.
While you can find almost any topic you’re searching for on the Internet, the pickings are slim when it comes to specific information on what your state and local governments are doing or how taxpayer dollars are being spent.
Getting more government public records online is the new frontier and battleground for open government advocates who believe government transparency is essential in a democratic society.
A benchmark study of public records available online has been conducted nationwide to assess what information can be found on government Web sites, and will be reported in this Sunshine Week series on secrecy in Mississippi.
These results show that challenges loom large for pioneers who seek to expand this transparency frontier to make government information readily available to citizens online at the click of a mouse.
Emboldened by the belief that if they band together they can actually accomplish change in government, this movement is spawning a cadre of sunshine activists across the country.
Serving as government watchdogs, they are blogging about government transparency, monitoring legislation, writing citizen newsletters and establishing Web sites, reporting incidents of secrecy and posting information on state and local government public records and meetings.
Here are just a few examples of what citizens watchdogs are doing who aren’t happy with government secrecy and want more transparency and information.
Sometimes just one disgruntled citizen who realizes that public records contain information that reveal behind-the-scenes maneuverings that are not in the public interest can shine a spotlight on secrecy and get results.
Leslie Graves, a stay-at-home mom, ran into roadblocks when she suspected election results were tainted and tried to get records on election results. Frustrated with how difficult it was for a citizen to obtain public records, she and her daughter established the WikiFOIA Web site in 2006.
Soon there was a flood of information from journalists, political activists, researchers and citizens from around the country. Now on the WikiFOIA Web site people can upload information on their state governments. She writes a blog and also started a blogger project conducting a survey of transparency in all 50 states.
Graves is now president of the Lucy Burns Institute that is involved in government transparency issues.
John Washburn is a citizen blogger who started his blog after encountering problems trying to get Wisconsin election results 2004 when he suspected irregularities.
Washburn challenged Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s policy of deleting e-mails after a week. Despite the governor’s office’s repeated refusal to release e-mails, he persevered with open-records requests until the e-mails were released.
Washburn recently won the 2008 James Madison Award from the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas for his work to defend the First Amendment and open government.
“The sole goal in keeping records from the public is to fatigue them into compliance and to fatigue them to stop watching (the government). Open records laws are one of the tools to fight that,” Washburn states.
“It’s not what you get so much from the records, it’s what you become by actually seeking hem out,” Washburn told Eric Hall who wrote about him on the Wisconsin FOI Center Web site. “You’re taking a small step to be a sovereign citizen and essentially reining in the government that acts in your name.”
That says it all.
Citizens can make a difference in fighting government secrecy. And citizen activists are doing just that. It’s your government.
Jeanni Atkins is executive director of the Mississippi Center for Freedom of Information and associate professor at journalism at the University of Mississippi.
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On the Net:
Mississippi Center for Freedom of Information: http://www.mcfoi.org
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