Life, Writing, Weirdness

I’m not normally one for being interested in American days of apparent importance. I’m aware they have lots of them, and that’s fine, but most of them have nothing to do with where or how I live, so they can pass by unmarked. Far too many of them, really, are corporately driven and I think it’s entirely likely that the rest of the world would prefer to be done with the corporatocracy (we can argue that choice of word another day, if anyone is interested).

Freedom of Information Day can have a wider significance, though, reaching beyond US borders to any population that might potentially value the underlying idea. Celebrated on March 16^th each year, if celebrated is the right word, it supports the idea of open, transparent government.

Wouldn’t that be a neat thing.

If I check the latest listings (2025), Canada is #15 (and steady to 2024) in the world on the Corruption Perceptions Index (the US is #29 and falling), or 18^th on the Transparency and Accountability list maintained by the Global Organized Crime Index (there’s no organized crime like government, I suppose) to the 25^th ranked United States. These aren’t measuring quite the same things, but we’re in the right neighbourhood in both cases.

Cue the resurgence of the “at least we’re better than the US” arguments. I’ve always hated that rationale when applied to anything, and I hate it even more since the Pedophile-in-Chief got elected again. Is “better than the US” a benchmark we really want to use? Is it anything more than an excuse to not get better?

As a citizen, I think I should be able to know all the stuff my government is up to. No, that doesn’t mean we should all have ultra top-secret security clearance, but we should have some idea of where the money goes, what records are being kept, and so on.

Not that governments have ever liked being accountable to the people they purport to serve.

But things can always get better.

Be well, everyone.