From the Greenville Daily Reflector (11/3/11): A system that operates in full view of the public it serves should be considered the only acceptable form of government. Anything less — officials who operate in secrecy behind closed doors or who try to keep information out of citizens' hands — violates North Carolina law, but also compromises a relationship that depends entirely on the consent of the governed.
In North Carolina two specific laws provide citizens access to government records and public meetings, and they have done well to pry open closed doors and protect access to the documents and activities of elected officials. However, those who advocate on behalf of open government should not consider the battle won, recognizing that any lull in their efforts will allow the shroud of secrecy to fall again.
Access to government meetings and records may be something most Americans take for granted. Yet, like so many societal advances witnessed in this nation’s history, those rights only emerged after difficult and protracted battles to uncover abuse committed by those in office. Consider that the modern open government acts were not passed on the federal level until 1966, though Wisconsin passed the first open records law more than a century prior.