New IRBeHEARD Exclusive Feature[This is a new IRBeHEARD exclusive feature that will appear from time to time and focus on ongoing efforts by the IRB City Commission and others to reduce your freedoms as a citizen in IRB.]
One reason the IRBeHEARD blog exists is a personal one. I am a staunch believer in First Amendment rights, open government, free speech and freedom the press. Having attended more city commission meetings than not over the last few years, I’ve had a front row seat to watch our local government become less and less accessible to its citizenry.
From establishing a more stringent public records policy to implementing more rigid rules of commission meeting decorum, changes have been proposed, and in some cases adopted, so that honest opinions may never be heard.
Whether these restrictions are legal or illegal is of no matter…they might well be. But, the mere suggestion that the speech of our residents be restricted IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM--especially given last year's financial debacle--is the central issue at hand and the subject of this ongoing blog feature.
It’s clear that there will never be total agreement in IRB. Who would want that anyway? Admittedly, IRB tends to be a little more contentious than other neighboring beach communities, but isn’t that something we should embrace and be proud of…not something our elected officials, who are supposed to represent US, should continually look for ways to discourage?
Nancy Obarski
Beach Trail/IRB
(Note: If you'd like to comment on this posting, simply click on the "Comments" link at the bottom of the article and follow the prompts. You may comment anonymously if you'd like. Or, you can always e-mail your comments to irbeheard@cmdinc.net and we'll post them for you!)
1 comment:
Jeffersonian Democracy believed that "Freedom of speech and the press is the best method to prevent the tyranny of the people by their own government"
Jefferson maintained that, "[a] democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine."
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