OPINION: How Sunshine Shields Democracies
From Budapest to Baltimore, truth still depends on those willing to seek it
“We know that they are lying, they know that they are lying, they even know that we know they are lying, we also know that they know we know they are lying too, they of course know that we certainly know they know we know they are lying too as well, but they are still lying. In our country, the lie has become not just moral category, but the pillar industry of this country.”
Soviet writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn made this observation decades ago in a society where deceit was not a personal failing but the infrastructure of power. Where he was democratic infrastructure was functionally nonexistent: independent journalism was crushed, dissent was dangerous, and truth existed at the peril of those who sought it. Concerningly, some observers now see similar efforts to impose these conditions here at home, with lies deployed to manipulate public perception, silence dissent, and obstruct accountability.
Even beyond our borders, democracies are backsliding. Countries long considered post-Soviet success stories are regressing. Hungary, once pluralistic, has spent the last 15 years systematically concentrating media power in the hands of the ruling party. Independent journalists and outlets are being attacked and dismantled through financial pressures, lawsuits, vague new statutes, and smear campaigns aimed at labeling critical voices as disloyal, foreign-influenced, or simply oppositional. Journalists have been subject to targeted surveillance, malicious lawsuits, and systematic exclusion from official communications and events. Between 2010 and 2025, Hungary fell from 23rd to 68th in press freedom rankings. And as a consequence to this erosion of democratic accountability, Hungary is increasingly falling back into its Soviet state of being, illiberalism, which refers to a system restricting individual rights and freedoms.
Regrettably, Maryland may have played a role in enabling this illiberal trajectory. Congressman Andy Harris (R-Md.), a consistent advocate on behalf of Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, helped scuttle plans to provide aid in support of independent media in Hungary, aid that could have strengthened democratic infrastructure and given residents the tools to resist undemocratic manipulations. Harris’ positions echoed Orbán’s own rhetoric, portraying independent media as hostile, illegitimate, and disloyal. The play was simple: democratic infrastructure like support for independent truth-telling was dismantled, and in its place, advocacy for Orbán-aligned messaging was incentivized. Notably, not too long after his efforts to help dismantle independent media in Hungary, Harris was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit from Orbán government.
Now Maryland is experiencing distinct echoes of the de-democratization seen in Hungary. Public records requesters face obstacles that range from bureaucratic obstructions to smear campaigns. Bad faith legal actions and threats have been levied against reporters and residents attempting to shine light on ethics and criminal violations in government. Public documents are delayed, altered, or obfuscated. Meanwhile, documents accessible to the public increasingly show government officials and employees acting with what can fairly be described as at least a reckless disregard for reality. This can leave us navigating contradictory narratives, unsure which are factual and which are manufactured. The lie, as Solzhenitsyn warned, risks becoming not just a moral category but an operational one, perverting public life itself.
This is why our democracies depend on everyday people who insist on truth, institutions that uphold transparency, and journalists who refuse to be intimidated. One such moment of civic engagement comes this week with Sunshine Week, an annual observance coinciding with James Madison’s birthday that celebrates the public’s right to know. Madison was the founding father who reminded us, “The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted.” This year it also marks the 60th anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act.
You can participate in Sunshine Week by filing public records requests, asking questions of public officials, supporting journalists and institutions with new subscriptions, or simply engaging neighbors in conversations about local news. Each of these actions strengthens an informed and engaged community. These small actions reinforce the structures that make truth resilient and help counter the tides of regressionism.
That kind of civic effort is nothing new. As Maryland newspaper man Frederick Douglass once reminded us, “Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground.” Democratic defense requires effort, attention, and faith. Lies may attempt to corrupt and darken our democracy, but daylight has a way of arriving at the right time.