To the Editor:

Imagine the headlines that would follow if the United States Congress, in response to a national disaster, decided to suspend the right to bear arms and started taking away the guns of citizens. The resistance would quickly mount, and we should pity the poor federal agents sent to enforce that order. Rightly so, as Benjamin Franklin said, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

These present times test our resolve to liberty as well. In response to fears of virus outbreaks, city councils across the State of Missouri have scrambled to find ways to close their doors and restrict public access to meetings. They make such changes under the guise of some temporary safety and claim that they are made for the best service of the citizens. But, no democracy can survive long in dark and secret chambers, for it is only within the light of public scrutiny that public trust can be preserved.

Our courts are no different. In fact, it is the same Constitution that protects a citizen’s right to bear arms which also ensures our courts remain public displays of justice. The First and the Sixth Amendments to the United States Constitution protect the right of the press to monitor our courts and ensure the public can scrutinize the actions of government officials. The Founding Fathers were cautious of appointed prosecutors and judges who serve on the government payroll. Those who wrote our Constitution understood that the best way to ensure fairness in the courtroom was to ensure that the public could clearly see what was going on before the bench.

We should rightly be wary of those who would seek to close our public meetings and our courtrooms with the promise of some temporary safety. For throughout history, every dictator began their quest with the promise of a better nation. The road to Hell has never been paved with better intentions than we may see today. But, whether the order comes from the United States Supreme Court, the Governor of Missouri, or the City Council of Fayette, it makes no difference. No government should be permitted to take away our protected rights without some fierce resistance by the People who have ordained it.

The moment we start closing off our city council meetings to the public eye, or exclude those seeking to monitor the actions of prosecutors or judges, we invite the poison of malfeasance into our chambers and our courtrooms. In times of crisis, it may be tempting to surrender our rights as citizens, hoping that we may one day simply pick them up and resume our lives when times return to normal. But lest we forget how hard others have fought to claim those rights for us in the first place. And, as Franklin said, if we are so willing to give up those rights that others have died for, perhaps we never deserved them in the first place.

Frank Robert Flaspohler