Should governments be allowed to keep secrets from their people?

[Spectre]

I personally believe that those in power should not be allowed to keep secrets from the public, especially when it is related to the safety and privacy of the people. It is by keeping such knowledge a secret that these people can remain in power. By keeping the public keeping the people in the depths of ignorance, powerful governments and people can rob them of their liberties and do as they desire. It is true that a small fraction of things should be kept from the public, but the current state of affairs show that the reverse is true in our day and age. (And to show how vehemently I adhere to what I say have even established a website(intelrepository(dotcom)) where I publish and even sell exclusive information not meant be seen by everyone.

I would like to hear everyone else's thoughts on this as well.

[Youngkhngdiddy]

Every government of a nation are not from the onset meant to keep secrets from the people. First it's a democratic world and therefore the people are technically meant to be the government. The high office holders were just representative out in those positions by the people and so they're to be accountable for every detail, action and reactions and they ought to report back to the people. We can't have a nation, body, organization or community where the people are just oblivious of happenings and decisions made by the heads.
  The country needs to be united, growth is of essence, the citizens are definitely part of the factors that makes up the geographical area and so if decisions or actions or activities are kept away from them, then it's more or less sidelining then and making them irrelevant. They are the sole receptors of whichever consequence either good or bad a leader decision causes. Every elected should never forget that they are to be reporting always to their electorates. It is by the evidence of the reports they gave and effects in the environment that'll prompt them to assess if they were bad or good choice of leaders.

[Ehyowiz]

I personally believe that those in power should not be allowed to keep secrets from the public, especially when it is related to the safety and privacy of the people. It is by keeping such knowledge a secret that these people can remain in power. By keeping the public keeping the people in the depths of ignorance, powerful governments and people can rob them of their liberties and do as they desire. It is true that a small fraction of things should be kept from the public, but the current state of affairs show that the reverse is true in our day and age. (And to show how vehemently I adhere to what I say have even established a website(intelrepository(dotcom)) where I publish and even sell exclusive information not meant be seen by everyone.

I would like to hear everyone else's thoughts on this as well.

   I feel like they are certain things we the citizens aren’t suppose to know, for our mental health they are things  that are best hidden away from us. Everyone has a different approach of reacting to things, for instance not everyone will take it likely about the existence of ufo, but then we currently have some governmental agencies secretly study them as we speak. People should understand that government do not only have to worry about the internal affairs alone, the external threats too are taken into consideration too as well. I feel like sharing all this information will be too much for a common citizen to handle. Though they are certain things the government need to be transparent about.
   Some of this things are like the revenue and how well they are distributing the resources of the country because people love to know how their money is being utilized. Let’s not be over zealous and give our government officials some credit. They do more than we expect even though some of their actions and decisions may be tough and against our will, we should understand that they’re always reasons for everything.

[DabsPoorVersion]

It is their responsibility to provide information to the public, or the citizens about the safety, privacy, and their management of funds they received from public taxes. The government should be transparent and be the one to be the primary source of information for their citizen. Everyone needs to be informed and updated on what is happening in their country.

However, there are certain situations where the government may need to withhold information, such as when they are dealing with a problem that only they can solve. Once the issue is resolved, it would be appreciated if they inform the public about it.

[Hatchy]

I personally believe that those in power should not be allowed to keep secrets from the public, especially when it is related to the safety and privacy of the people. It is by keeping such knowledge a secret that these people can remain in power. By keeping the public keeping the people in the depths of ignorance, powerful governments and people can rob them of their liberties and do as they desire. It is true that a small fraction of things should be kept from the public, but the current state of affairs show that the reverse is true in our day and age. (And to show how vehemently I adhere to what I say have even established a website(intelrepository(dotcom)) where I publish and even sell exclusive information not meant be seen by everyone.

I would like to hear everyone else's thoughts on this as well.

You have a point. In a properly governed country, citizens indeed have the right to take legal action against the government if they attempt to withhold important information. However, it's essential to recognize that citizens don't hold control; the government possesses supreme authority over the nation. They have the ability to decide what information to disclose and what to keep confidential. Despite the citizens' right to sue, the government's overarching power allows them to make choices about transparency.

[Cheema02]

Snip...

I would like to hear everyone else's thoughts on this as well.

I think an open government is essential to a democratic society. While discretion may be required in some situations providing too little information can damage relationships. Finding a balance is essential to maintaining safety without undermining freedoms and public confidence. This website appears to be an attempt to close this gap by promoting transparency in governance and providing exclusive information.

[JoyMarsha]

 It is not the responsibility of any government to conceal information from its citizens.First of all, we live in a democratic environment where the people are supposed to participate in governance.

A nation's leadership must occasionally keep certain facts secret in order to prevent unwarranted alarm. People need to realize that the government is concerned about both internal and exterior threats in addition to internal concerns.  The impoverished masses will find it too much to bear when this truth is shared.

When it comes to issues like education, security advice, and the economic situation, the government should be open and honest.

[DrBeer]

No matter how much we desire complete transparency of the state structure and state affairs, there will always be some information that is not accessible to the population of the country. This is due to many reasons - from internal nuances, agreements between the government and big business, to foreign policy obligations, alliances, global processes that will be hidden from the average person. The state, power, money - this is not the “cleanest” part of our life... And as practice shows, even the most democratic countries have their “skeletons in the closet”.

[Gormicsta]

One of the important qualities of good governance is transparency, when a government isn't being transparent to its people or misleading them by lying or withholding valuable informations that concerns them just for their selfish interest, then the intentions of good governance has been defeated

[EluguHcman]

Governance has a structure with the intenses of psychological emphasis in other to manage and conduct the population in a massive one accord.
The government can not reveal every undergone and undergoing processes to the public at when it is not necessary if on a scenero that its awareness by the public would either offer no values to it instead the public as unprofessional bodies termed to be followers would either cause panics and chaos if let known.
Although there are certain sectors of processes in the governances which the public are entitled about to know but yet the governments keeps it all secret within themselves because they know the negative South side reactions of it by the audience.
Because the public had been unable to put a hold countable conducts amongst all, the governments do have that as an avenue to ridicule the people rightful mandates and takes all charges upon within themselves the governing executive bodies.

[goaldot]

No, I don't think it is good for government to keep secrets from their people. Any government that keeps away the day to day activities of the country or state from the citizens has ulterior motive. That kind of government has the ability to embezzle fund.

[Agbe]

That is where accountability and transparency comes to play in fairness government and whereby the government is seriously corrupt and they are embezzling the public founds then they do things secretly. In the normal note responsible government should not hide anything thing from the public and that make him outstanding leader and transparency leader.

[$crypto$]

I think it depends on what is being discussed here, if it concerns national defense I think it is legitimate if it becomes a state secret that only certain people can know. Because if this can be known by its citizens it will also be at risk for the defense of a country.

In other matters such as the budget for a program, it must be clearly visible to the public. Where the funds are disbursed, what they are used for, must be clear because this will anticipate the dirty actions of state officials, such as corruption. In this case the public must really know for sure and the government must be very transparent in providing this information.

[Bodhi2021]

No, it is not right for the government should keep secret away from is people and should always share useful information to them all, because this can safe life and properties and will create a means of understanding between the people and the government for the betterment of the society, also by sharing useful information to them it gives rooms to creat harmony, love and tranquility so when the people see something they will always say something because of the good relationship he creates with the people.

[Sim_card]

It all boils down to the kind of information. If it is about the welfare of the country, then the government needs to be transparent on this aspect, so that the citizens will know that the government is not hiding anything from them. This will bring their trust and confidence on the government. On the other hand, if it is information that will cause panic to the citizens and can lead to loss of lives, then it should be kept secret, as long as the government can handle the situation. For example, if there is a disease outbreak that have killed a lot of people, the number of dead people shouldn't be disclosed, but a sound prevention measure awareness should be generally given to the public.