text: In a free society where the authority of that government is derived from the people and the checks and balances of that power are extremely dependent upon that people, it is essential that the people are informed and that secrets are not kept from them. 
  
  I cannot conceive of one essential role secrecy should play in the government of a free society. Our military might does not come from secrecy. Our technological edge is not kept through secrecy (which is impossible to maintain). Having duplicitous agents rather than open diplomacy weakens and erodes trust and influence more than any operational advantage having such operatives contributes. The list goes on and on. 
  
  Secrecy only facilitates the free operation of those who could not do their dastardly deeds in the open.
  
  Privacy is a right of individuals and not government and its representatives.