A note from John Washburn

Dear state blogger,

In honor of Sunshine Week 2008, I would like to encourage you to participate in the Sunshine Blogger Project with me.

The purpose of the project is to find out which American governors have systems in place to allow ordinary citizens to obtain copies of the e-mails sent to and from our public servants. E-mailed documents are considered to be a matter of public record in nearly every state. However, if ordinary citizens (or reporters) can't actually get copies of those e-mails...well then, they are not really public records, are they?

Please take a minute to read my note and find out why you should take the time to participate in this project. We know that organizing bloggers is like herding cats. Even so, here is my attempt in the hope the cats are more panthers than pampered Persian tabbies.

Read an FAQ about the Sunshine Blogger Project here.

Beyond those details, the interesting question is: why would you want to do this?

Why take time out of your busy life to request records you may have no interest in? People are complicated, so it is no surprise that the motivation to participate is complicated as well.

There is the philosophical reason. These are the public's records about how government officials conduct government business in the name of the citizens. One of the specific charges of tyranny leveled by Jefferson against King George was the systematic effort of the King to separate the colonial legislatures from their public records in order to fatigue those legislators into compliance. When government agents separate the sovereign citizens from the public's records it is often with the goal of fatiguing those citizens into ignoring those officials and relinquishing the citizen's duty to keep an eternally vigilant eye on those in power.

There is the spiteful reason. You may think Governor 39% or "Diamond Jim" Doyle need to be taken down a peg or two and the moments of uncharacteristic candor found in emails are just the ticket.

There is the practical reason. Requesting the emails may be the only way to know when Cintra was offered 50 years of tolls. Requesting the emails may the only way to know why that high ranking official left office recently.

There is the historical reason. Requesting the e-mails proves the emails are being retained. Requesting the e-mails proves the e-mails are filed in an orderly, accessible way. Or not. E-mails contribute to our understanding of history in the 21st century as the letters and diaries of Jefferson, Madison, and Adams contribute to our understanding of these historical figures. E-mails are the personal, business, and governmental correspondence of the present and will be for the foreseeable future. The history contained in e-mails should be retained.

The best reason though is personal. I promise you this project will change you and change you for the better. It is intimidating to ask a public official for the records the law says you can have. The Judge will not be there to defend you and to lecture the clerk on the law. It will be just you and him or her with them persistently asking: "Why do want these records?" The fact that asking such a question is expressly forbidden in most states is irrelevant. You will be asked and the simple answer of: "Because I can", may not sit well with the Office of the Governor. Asking for these emails may be intimidating the first time you do it. It was for me. Also, asking may turn out to be the simplest part. Actually getting the emails may prove difficult. It has been for me.

But, it will be worth it.

Being a free citizen is about more than watching and commenting. These are important and necessary functions of a free society. But, after you were comfortable with observing the world, you progressed and started commenting and speaking on the events of the world. Now that you are comfortable with commenting on your corner of the world, I believe the next progression is toward action. When the Founders sought to secure the "Blessing of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity", they knew that we, their posterity, would need to act. We were and are given the task of chaining down government and binding its powers so that it does not transform from a shield protecting the powerless into a club abusing the powerless. The first action step to this end is to assert your duty to oversee the government which acts in your name.

Many of you will meet resistance from the Governor whose emails you seek. But, you will find it the most liberating frustration of your life. It is liberating to step into the shoes crafted for us by the likes of Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Paine where the common citizen is given the authority to tell the Governor: "No, you work for me. I am one of the governed and the power you derive from our consent is limited —— only yours for a short time." If your are a praying person, then you will find this a good time to pray for a stronger back rather than a lighter load.

At the end of this journey into government oversight you will be changed. Some of you will even be lucky and find gold amongst the mundane minutiae of government emails. I hope you find such gold, but that will not be the true reward. The true reward will be the changes in you, and it will make all the trolls haunting your comment section worth it.

In closing, I urge you to join us in this fledgling experiment for transparent government.

The government of the People, by the People, and for the People can only truly pass from this Earth when we, the People, refuse to shoulder our solemn civic responsibilities. We Americans are the inheritors of such a government. We are the Grandsons of Liberty and delight in this heritage. Participating in eSunshine week is one small way to insure this priceless inheritance does not go gentle into that good night.

Sincerely,

John Washburn

See also:

Sunshine Blogger Project
FAQ about Sunshine Blogger Project
Assistance for Sunshine Blogger Project
Your Governor and Open Records
Governors, e-mail and open records
How to ask for records from your governor