US Freedom of Information Act Turns 40

The U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) turns 40 tomorrow, the day we celebrate our independence. This was stated by Jimmy Carter, who write in the opinion column for today's Washington Post issue.

Now I am sure some conservatives would like to see this piece of legislation abolished for the sake of national security, but the uninterrupted flow of information is integral to the survival of democracy. These days, governments are slowly re-classifying documents that were made open to the public several years ago, or even a decade ago. New policies have been issued to prevent many important documents and official actions from being seen by the public.

As stated by Carter -- war, civil rights violations, energy costs, campaign finance and lobbyist scandals -- dictate the need for citizens to have the right to access public documents.

Using the war on terror as an excuse to keep documents hidden from the public is unexcusable. Terrorist attacks have occurred throughout the years, why the urgency to keep everything secret now? Is it really protecting national security or keeping those "politicians" in power forever?

Washington Post - We Need Fewer Secrets