Stop SOPA Censorship!
Image by ~C4Chaos via Flickr
Hello everyone,
I usually do not discuss my political, social or religious views on my blog, but I do believe it is important for everyone to be aware of the SOPA bill and the changes it will cause to the internet. Many websites, such as WordPress and Wikipedia, have made a stand and have shown they will not support this bill. The video below will explain how the internet will change as we know it and what the consequences will be if it is passed.
If you feel obligated to speak out against the bill you can contact a senator here: americancensorship.org
Here is an example of a speech a good friend of mine wrote to our senators, he wished to remain anonymous so I did not include his name or the school he attends. Your speech does not need to be as lengthy as the one below I just wanted to share it as a model about what can be discussed.
My name is _______, I am currently a history major at _______ and plan to be a future lawyer and/or politician. This act is frankly an embarrassment to the United States and its citizens. Our country faced a great number of problems in the year 2011. The constant increases of unemployment and poverty, ongoing drug wars and the ever present military opposition in the Middle East all plague the United States and its people far more than viewing of non-copyrighted material. These ever present issues deserve this country’s attention far more than the listing of non-copyrighted material on the internet. SOPA and PIPA both claim that their acts will help the economy but this is a mere farce and insult to the educated individuals. Entertainment accounts for a minuscule part of the United States’ economy and the attempt to force citizens to buy their entertainment will have no major impact on the economy. Instead the attempt of the government to enforce this law will result in a major misappropriation of the people’s tax dollars, 47 million million tax dollars to be precise. In order even attempt to enforce this bill, if it were to pass, the government would need to hire a great deal of new cyber police and provide an extensive amount of resources for these individuals. It is clear to see even with the creation of these jobs would financially harm the government and simply waste tax dollars, that the citizens such as myself work hard to make.
Furthermore the decision to censor the internet is comparable to the current situation in communist China. In this country the internet has long been a free means for the people to express themselves. This is due to the freedom that the US has allowed its citizens. However this act is a clear act of oppression against the people, limiting what we are allow to post, say, see and hear. This act of oppression is comparable to many acts of censorship that the world has previously experienced; examples can be seen in the alien and sedition acts, the black list in the 1950s, and the spread of a specific type of propaganda by Nazi and Communist parties. This is a blatant act of fascism in an attempt for the government to take power away from the people and place it in the hands of the government, thus a far cry from the democratic foundations this land was built upon. The government should be well aware that the people will not remained silenced and stand for this outrage. In this ever evolving age of technology individuals will easily be able to bypass the preventive measures the government will attempt to install. These hackers will then be able to spread viruses more freely around the internet, although this may seem impossible to the government that citizens are more advanced than its cyber police. An example of this was seen in LuLzSec’s attack against several gaming websites who are well equipped to handle hackers.
So I write as an individual citizen of this country, please consider what I have said. The people of my generation are the voice of tomorrow. While you governors, senators and representatives may be in power now, time is constantly moving. For all of us death is only a blink away in the grand scheme of it all, so vote against this act. If not for the sake of your citizens, do not pass this bill for yourself and for your legacy. Do not be remembered as the generation that suspended the civil rights and liberties of United States citizens. Thank you.
Related articles
- SOPA What is it? Why should you care? (eco-officegals.com)
- Protest SOPA/PIPA…what is it, what to do? (closetwriteranonymous.wordpress.com)
- SOPA Blackout Strike Already Started; Why Major Sites and Blogs are Going Black in Support (growmap.com)
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