The right to know - Essay Example

Ultimately, the right to know is essential for eliminating deception and the consequences that flow from the deceptive nature of erroneous information. This paper will examine the significance of the right to know, why information and portrayal of actuality can be deceptive and the consequences of deception. This examination will be conducted by reference to Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James Loewen, M. Butterfly: With an Afterword by the Playwright by David Hwang and The Forger’s Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century by Edward Dolnick.

The right to know in the US originates out of repression of information during colonization under English rule and attempts to prohibit public disclosure of the royal government’s action (Forstel 1). The right to know the workings of the government was eventually aligned with natural rights by America’s founding fathers. The right to know was refined to be characterized as freedom of expression which entails, freedom of information. America’s founding fathers considered freedom of expression as a natural and inalienable right (Forstel 1-5).

This right was included in America’s Declaration of independence in 1776 (Forstel 4). The struggle for transparency and frank and honest disclosure is significant for understanding the importance of the right to know. Recipients of information typically make decisions on the information imparted. When those imparting information control the information released, they are indirectly manipulating decisions more favorable to them rather than decisions made on the basis of truth. When the right to know is ignored so that information is deceptive, general mistrust is the inevitable result.

Essentially what happens is, recipients have one of two choices. They can either ignore the information or