The Government's Mania For Secrecy
President Ronald Reagan nicknamed 1987 "The Year of the Reader," but
throughout 1987 the Reagan administration outdid itself in its efforts to
control, interpret, manipulate, disinform, and censor all forms of information.
Typical of the Reagan administration's effort to control...
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throughout 1987 the Reagan administration outdid itself in its efforts to
control, interpret, manipulate, disinform, and censor all forms of information.
Typical of the Reagan administration's effort to control its own destiny and
the nation's history was the Justice Department memorandum that could enable
Reagan to control the history of his involvement in the Iran-contra scandal.
The administration is seeking to overturn a 1986 federal court ruling that
limited Nixon's right to block the release of his White House papers. The
Justice Department memorandum, filed in a lawsuit, would allow Nixon to
withdraw any documentation he though should be suppressed. In effect, this
would put Nixon in control of U.S. history between 1968 and 1974. If Nixon
wins, it will pave the way for Reagan to determine official U.S. history from
1980 to 1988. While alarming, this is only one small example of Reagan's
mania for secrecy. Following are the reports of three groups that tried to warn
us about what was happening. PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY. This group's report
provides more than 100 pages of well-documented charges concerning the growing
trend toward secrecy in government and its threat to American democracy. It
"tells the story of the institutionalization of secrecy throughout the federal
government...the story of unprecedented controls on information, not only on
defense and foreign policy issues where legitimate secrets do need to be
protected, but on a host of topics vital to our daily lives, from toxic wastes
to occupational hazards, from new technology to the health of our children."
THE REPORTERS COMMITTEE FOR FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. This group issued an alert
about how the Reagan administration and its supporters restrict public access
to government information. The 50-page report lists 135 specific actions that
have occurred since 1981, including threatened prosecution of the press
publishing classified information; expulsion of foreign journalists; proposed
amendments to weaken the Freedom of Information Act; and the use of lie
detectors. THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. The latest edition of the
association's annual report on censorship provides a damning indictment of
Reagan administration efforts to "restrict and privatize government
information" such as public documents and statistics. The 1987 report adds 78
items to the case for Reagan's secrecy mania. Sources: THE NATION, May
23, 1987, "History Deleted"; GOVERNMENT DECISIONS WITHOUT DEMOCRACY, December
1987, by People for the American Way; FYI MEDIA ALERT 1987, March 1987, "The
Reagan Administration and the News Media," by the Reporters Committee for
Freedom of the Press; THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, Washington Office,
"Less Access to Less Information By and About the U.S. Government: IX,"
December 1987, by Anne A. Heanue