"The people have a right to know!" When someone says this phrase with the right inflection and tone of voice, and especially if the person saying it is a respected journalist, like Walter Cronkie, the phrase is powerful and compelling. Unfortunately, today, this phrase gets thrown around like a sitcom catch phrase. I have been thinking about the phrase a lot lately, and I keep going back to three basic questions. I don't necessarily have the answers to these questions, maybe you will.
First, where do we get this "right?" We have the right of free speech and freedom of assembly and religion, because our Constitution guarantees them to us. I have read the Constitution a couple of times and I don't remember the "right to know." Some of our rights are what we call "natural rights," like the right to life , liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Again, I don't think this "right" falls in this category.
Second, why do we have a "right to know?" Now I know that this question sounds similar to the first and it probably is connected, but what I want to know is why do we need to know, esp. all the things that the media claims we have a "right to know" these days. I can understand the public's need and right to know what our government is doing in our name. This makes sense, but I think the public is entitled to very little information, esp. about the personal life of people.
Finally, if we conclude that the people do have a "right to know." What exactly do we have a right to know? Is there no such thing as information that is not for public consumption? Do we really have a "right to know" that some man we don't know has been arrested for a crime? Would it not be more appropriate that we had a "right to know" that a man we don't know was convicted of a crime? Maybe, we don't even need to know that. Do we have the "right to know" the personal lifestyles of people we happen to see on the TV screen or the silver screen? Is there no aspect of an elected official's life that does not fall into the category of "the people's right to know?"
Maybe we should look at our own lives and see if we would like "the people to have the right to know" everything in your life.