The Right to Government Transparency... Records Archive

The 10th Archivist of the United States, David S. Ferriero,
writes on his government blog, 

"Citizens have the right to see, examine, and learn from the records

 that document the actions of their government."

In an unprecedented and low-profile move, on Nov. 28, 2011,

U.S. President Obama sent out a Memo to all executive department heads

with the goal to reform government records management.

The memo reads,

"Improving records management will improve performance

and promote openness and accountability (my italics)

by better documenting agency actions and decisions. 

Records transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

provide the prism (my italics) through which future generations

will understand and learn from our actions and decisions."

Note the words "records transferred."

Will this mean there will be a silent censoring of records not transferred

as a "provided prism" lets outsiders only see certain items?

Prism is defined as a transparent body that disperses light.

Will government transparency become the limited clarity of a crystal prism,

with information scattered, irregular, or even vanished?

A prism is distorted transparency.

Post-Wikileaks plan for open U.S. government, dated 9/20/2011.
The U.S. is part of the Open Government Partnership
launched by 8 countries on 9/20/2011.
Where was the NEWS on this?

Of course, a well-kept electronic management of records
by any government is important for history.
While not electronic, the German Nazi records were so precise and well-kept
that historians have an important research tool of World War II,

(excepting those records destroyed as evidence by the Nazis themselves).

Which words will be written?

Which words and images will be kept?

What will be left for historians and citizens?

The Right to Respect... Accountability

To be accountable means to follow rules--

rules of family, society, workplace, government, and culture.

We follow rules,

by making certain choices of action,

and we expect others to do the same.

We especially like an accountable government,

but we also appreciate accountable family and friends.

There is peacefulness in the idea of accountability.

Things run smoothly.

No rules?

The result is chaos.

Rules allow space for many freedoms.

I declare the Right to Accountability.

The Right to Accountability modifies the Right to Self-Determination.

The Right to Respect ... Better Government

Democracy is the best government that exists in 2011.

Over centuries, it has flourished in various forms.

But it is not perfect.

Can we do better?

Why stop here?

Why not search for an even better system,

maybe striving for "democracy" in its truest form,

for the people by the people?

Organizations such as the Better Government Association in the U.S.
strive for integrity, transparency, and accountability of government,
functioning in a much-needed watchdog role. Great.

But how about re-thinking the system itself,
to achieve these goals of honest, open government?

I find the term better government used in several archived U.S. and British writings
of the late 18th century into the first half of the 19th century.
Why did it desist in English usage?
Have American and British citizens become complacent, maybe?