I believe that “Information” is critical to our democracy. What I mean is that if we do not have open, honest and accurate information provided to us as citizens, a government can operate without any accountability to its people. Without information, a government can then do literally anything it pleases, as its citizens would be unaware.
Think about a government that only allows what it approves to be heard by its citizens. We all have different opinions, and that is part of a democracy. We need to reach the “agree to disagree” stage, where citizens can form their priorities and views based on the information they have received. If we disagree with someone else’s stance, we need to acknowledge that they might believe their stance is correct and hope they understand that we think ours may be accurate as well.
It seems we are in a critical stage of our democracy, and our elected officials and news outlets must step up and prioritize essential information. Information about critical events should be front and center above all others. We cannot let ourselves become complacent, and that is where good information helps us.
Brian Blanchard
Bayfield
