Ask who wrote the Declaration of Independence, and most people will promptly respond with Thomas Jefferson.
Ask about the Constitution, and Broadway enthusiasts and history buffs may wax poetic about Alexander Hamilton.
But who do we credit with the Bill of Rights? That honor goes to James Madison.
The fourth president was a Founding Father, but he never was enthusiastic about the powers of government. Instead, he was an advocate of the liberties he believed were intrinsic. He took those unspoken privileges of citizenship and codified them in the first 10 changes to the Constitution — the Bill of Rights.
Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. Freedom of the press. The right to bear arms. The right to a jury trial. The right to remain silent. These are just a few of the concepts we hold dear that were written into our history in Madison’s Bill of Rights.
Then there is the freedom of information. It isn’t specifically delineated, but that doesn’t matter. The Ninth Amendment tells us rights not specifically spelled out or limited are still in the hands of the people.
Everything about the founding documents of our country tells us that we have the ability to hold our leaders to account. It isn’t just a right. It’s not even a responsibility. It’s a requirement of citizenship. Our government isn’t top-down like some oppressive monarchies intended to oppress. It is grassroots, growing from the people.
Because of that, the information of government — from meetings to costs to paper trails — is the right of the people to hold, study and question.
This week is National Sunshine Week, culminating in Freedom of Information Day on Saturday, Madison’s birthday. While this is championed by news organizations everywhere, we don’t do so for ourselves. This isn’t National Newspaper Week — that’s in October.
National Sunshine Week is about the right of the people to their own information. It might not have a musical or even an amendment, but it’s still something to sing about.
