First There’s SOPA In Your Face, And Then…
Pretty scary, isn’t it? It’s an ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) take down notice. I have a horrible feeling that we might be seeing a whole lot more of these in our future. Or maybe we won’t because the US government will be able to “disappear” sites that don’t fit into the way they want things to work. Too bad the Internet will be part of the collateral damage. What does the military call it? Oh right, acceptable losses. I wonder who the government will get to create their next generation technology once they shut down all of the technology and educational sites that “infringe”? We all know that innovation usually comes from the fringes, and not status quo. Remember Apple’s “Think Different” campaign?
An ICE takedown notice |
December 15, 2011 will be a day to remember for us all, and an important one at that. The day is marked by the collective held breath of an entire planet as we watched and listened to the House Judiciary Committee mark up the controversial and draconian bill known as the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA to the rest of us. It was also noted by the White House that this is the birthday of the Bill of Rights, which ironically includes the First Amendment that establishes freedom of speech, as well as the Fourth Amendment which covers protection from unreasonable search and seizure. And let’s not forget the Sixth through Eighth Amendments which speak to a provision for trials by jury and prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. That this is happening in the United States of America is something that should alarm not only Americans, but the entire globe. Democracy is in trouble in the one country that talks incessantly about it.
Watching this televised committee meeting is teaching those of us who live in the US an important civic lesson: Do NOT lose interest in what your government is doing, and make sure that you speak up at the earliest possible opportunity on every subject they put forth. Because many of your politicians think that you’re not interested if they don’t hear from you. Never mind that your day is just as busy as theirs. We have to put aside our distaste for their political discourse. Because they are also counting on our lack of interest so that they can move legislation that THEY want. Or to be brutally honest, legislation that their financial supporters want before legitimate objections can be noted. Listen here to actual dialogue of how US politicians operate: Inside Washington’s Money Machine by NPR.
Censorship. Source: IsaacMao on flickr.com
That probably wasn’t why they chose to be politicians in the first place, but it’s what is happening every day. None of the SOPA supporters speak about the concessions that they’re receiving to support this specific legislation. But they will speak vehemently against anyone who disagrees with their view of “free” commerce, because this microscopic view is what every government and business uses to look at the world. To hear them speak, you’d think that we broke one of the Ten Commandments if we went against their capitalistic beliefs. And the biggest problem of all is that the corruption is drowning nearly every country on this planet. If you don’t believe it, then look at this week’s breaking news that Jacques Chirac, the former President of France, was found guilty of corruption. And the list of corrupt leaders would be a mile long and full of former and current leaders from all walks of life, including politics.
Nearly every country is finally admitting that political corruption is now completely out of control. The citizens are awakening to a new dusk and it’s not a pretty one. The question is: will the people be able to clean up the corruption and set society back on firm feet when the corruption reaches to the very top? There was obviously a lot of misplaced faith put into the hands of career politicians that saw that the means justified their ends. And it was all done right under our collective noses, while we were all busy trying to live our lives.
It would be so easy to pick out the politicians who are being held in someone’s pockets within this House Judiciary Committee, because they’re pretty easy to spot just by listening to their words. But what’s most troubling about politicians everywhere is that they don’t believe that they’ve been compromised. They still believe that they’re working for the greater good. Granted that’s the greater “fiscal” good. And shouldn’t the citizens be worried when a politician questions the authenticity of their own co-workers’ intentions aloud in a public forum? When you can’t even trust the people that you work with, then you know that things have reached that worst case scenario that frightens us all.
We really need to look at how we choose our politicians. After all, we’re putting them in charge of our lives. I don’t think that anyone thinks that’s not important enough to choose wisely when the voting starts. It’s time to look at the fledgling democracies around the world that are showing us how important voting privilege is. Haven’t those of us who’ve been born with this right been taking it for granted long enough? Just like we’ve already said before: Know your rights because they’re not set in stone. Seriously, first, there’s SOPA in your face, and then you might just wake up into dystopia.
You can watch the hearing live at: http://www.keepthewebopen.com/sopa, though it may not last long as the majority in this committee are clearly intending to rush the vote on yet another flawed legislation. It seems like they all want their time off for Christmas, though it’s hard to imagine that they deserve it by watching them. And for even more clarity about this flawed legislation, here’s an informative talk by Stanford Law School – What’s Wrong With SOPA:
The real question that everyone’s been asking without any forthcoming answer is: What’s the rush? Thank goodness there are a few politicians who still understand what true justice means. Without them, the hearing probably wouldn’t have even been broadcast for us to hear. This was not a good day for democracy.
Yea, a big part of the internet will die. It will effectively break the Domain Name System which houses the links from IP addresses to the website address that we type into the search box. Here's a link to the open letter written by some of the inventors of the internet. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/12/internet-in...
Am I right to assume this will not only affect the US, but worldwide? Most websites are based in the US and if the bill passes on the 21st, would it be right to say that a part of the Internet will die?
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