Without the ability to talk about government power, there's no way for citizens to make sure this power isn't being misused.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
We need to find a way to empower citizens to make governments take notice.
I don't want to hear again from the attorney general or anyone on this floor that this government has shown it can be trusted to use the power we give it with restraint and care.
No one in government should ever think that the citizens they work for can't or won't scrutinize their actions.
Power's not what the Constitution was about.
Governments are supposed to lie to their citizens.
Politics is not about power.
When you are subverting the power of government, that's a fundamentally dangerous thing to democracy.
It's enshrined in our Constitution that an individual has a right to release information and disseminate information that makes the powers that be uncomfortable.
The public is not to see where power lies, how it shapes policy, and for what ends. Rather, people are to hate and fear one another.
You can't give the government the power to do good without also giving it the power to do bad - in fact, to do anything it wants.