Ignorance is not that blissful.
According to some legal analysts worried about dramatic changes in U.S. law, proposed legislation solidifying the Bush administration's eavesdropping authority might mean reporters could be prosecuted for writing about government surveillance — any surveillance, good or bad.
This would mean if the president or his administration breaks the law — mums the word for journalists.
Breaking the rules wouldn't just result in a slap on the wrist either. People found guilty face fines of up to $1 million, 15 years in jail or both. Those are pretty hefty penalties.
But this doesn't just affect reporters. According to Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the language of the eavesdropping bill is so vague that it would allow almost anyone to be prosecuted.
Say for instance your elderly neighbor reads an article in the paper and then passes the story to you as you meet in the street. The neighbor in this scenario, well, he or she is not headed to the retirement home anytime soon — they instead could be headed to jail.
This sounds like the beginning of the end of journalism.
Reporters are taught to be the "watch dogs" of our country — the voice of the people. People have the right to know what is going on in their country, and that becomes impossible when journalists don't have the right to tell them.
The legislation, which could be introduced as soon as next week, would add a profound weight onto the back of our government, making it their responsibility to inform the public of their woes.
But do we really trust them to do that?
Bad news about the government isn't reported for fun. People might not like reading it, reporters might not even like writing it, but it happens. Everyone has a right to know.
Not knowing the truth means not being aware of your options. Good reporting allows you the opportunity to take a stance and have an opinion about your country's current regime. Forbidding reporting about issues that are relevant and essential to the public leaves everyone in the dark, and we should probably be afraid of the dark.
Turns out, what you don't know can still hurt you.
