It's a riveting work of fiction.
"The Appeal," the latest legal thriller penned by attorney-turned-author John Grisham, takes aim at the failings of judicial elections.
True to Grisham form, the best part of the story doesn’t kick in until nearly the end.
That’s when a newly elected judge experiences a family tragedy that helps him view his lofty ideologies from a more humbling position.
In a twist of fate, some of his opponents’ positions became his personal reality. Suddenly, viewpoints that once were anathema to the young judge became understandable.
As Sunshine Week celebrations are held throughout the country this week, I suspect that the debate about open government might read like Grisham’s latest novel.
The question of what to do – or what not to do – about open government is a passion-filled journey replete with heartfelt ideals on both sides.
To some, the clarion for consistent or even greater access to government meetings and records might seem like the rantings of another wacky, liberal ideology.
To others, the fight is about recognizing that open government is central to democracy. And democracy, at its core, is deeply personal.
Oftentimes, it does take an in-your-face experience to understand open government in personal terms. And when that happens, it’s usually quite painful.
Fortunately, I’ve never suffered any intimate harm that has been exacerbated by governmental secrets. My upbringing, though, has given me other experiences that are analogous to the fight for open government.
My family is a working-class-turned-middle-class group of folks. My father operated graphics-arts cameras for years, then headed into graphic arts management, and now he’s preaching the Gospel as an assistant pastor. My mother has worked in secretarial and administrative jobs.
When I was growing up, my parents, familiar with the ever-lurking threat of disenfranchisement from multiple fronts, were vigilant in insisting that my siblings and I ask questions about decisions that adults around us made.
My mother especially wanted to make sure that we understood one thing: Whenever we asked about what was happening around us, we deserved answers.
Over time, I began to understand why this was so important to my parents. They knew that the actions of others impacted our lives in one way or another. So in my parents’ view, the right to know what was going on was personal.
It was an issue of accountability.
The sheer fact that we live and breathe around each other makes us accountable to one another.
It’s that personal aspect of government that’s at the heart of the continual push for transparency. And it’s why the push seems so intense at times.
And to be sure, the need for government to be open with the people it serves is not a made-up storyline created just to illustrate a point. It’s no work of fiction concocted by ideological, liberal wackos.
Rather, the call for sunshine reflects the conviction that what happens in halls of powers affects my everyday life and your everyday life – for real.
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