At the Lycoming County Commissioners’ work session on Tuesday, March 12th, the commissioners announced that they were making a proclamation on the coming Thursday regular session declaring that particular week “Sunshine Week.” This highly alert feature writer could not help but ask, “Isn’t it a little late to recognize a special week when the week is almost over?” They admitted it caught them by surprise — which is a little bit embarrassing given that the week is meant to celebrate openness in government actions.

“Sunshine” is the expression used to convey transparency. In the not so distant past, political matters were not considered the public’s business. The expression “smoke-filled back room” originated almost exactly a century ago by Raymond Clapper, a reporter for United Press, in describing the process by which Warren G. Harding was nominated as the Republican candidate for the 1920 Presidential Election. Rumor had it that the power-brokers in a private meeting in a hotel room chose Harding, who was no one’s first or even second choice, to break the deadlocked convention.

But throughout American history, there has always been conspiracy theory enthusiasts in which the smoke-filled room is just the symptom. For them, the real diseases are the organizations, which impact government such as the Illuminati, Freemasonry, all the way to the Robert Mueller investigation report. Speaking of the latter, it is ironic that the decision to make the findings public are being highly debated. The battle for ‘sunshine’ never ends.

The current resolution was in conjunction with the anniversary of the birth of James Madison, the father of the US Constitution, who wrote that the “consent of the governed” requires that the people be able to “arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” The resolution reminds us that every citizen has the inherent right to access to government meetings and public records.

They also have the right to speak at public meetings. Under the Sunshine Law, members of the public must be given the opportunity to express their opinions; in fact, must be given the right to do so before an issue is voted upon. This is why Commissioner Chairman McKernan specifically asks at the very beginning of the meeting if there are any public comments on agenda items. It is not unusual for someone to come to the podium with a script in hand and promote or denounce a particular issue that would be raised on that day’s session.

However, this does not give a member of the public the right to talk endlessly, nor does it give a group the right to have one person after another stating exactly the same thing. Nor is there a right to interrupt a meeting with shouts of disapproval or other such disruptions. The Sunshine Law provides the boundaries of public propriety in the affairs of public discourse.

At a time when our country’s history and heritage are being challenged, it is critically important that we remember the very first words of the United States Constitution penned by James Madison, “We the people… do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.” Not politicians, not the rich and powerful, but people, as President Andrew Jackson reminds us, “the planter, the farmer, the mechanic, and the laborer… form the great body of the people of the United States, they are the bone and sinew of the country men who love liberty and desire nothing but equal rights and equal laws.”