his page is political speech, and is therefore covered under my first
amendment rights. I can't say what I really think about the telecom bill,
because it would involve a scene of unimaginable cartoon type violence
against those members of the ruling class who have decided that they had
better filter what I decide to look for on the Internet. I also would not say
what I really feel, because I have self restraint.
Nothing is really free in this world; there is a price on everything. The price of freedom is vigilance. The price of freedom of speech is the knowlege that you won't always agree with what is said. This Internet has always been so useful precisely because it is low cost freedom to say what is on your mind. The price, until recently, has been that there is a lot of noise compared to useful information. The price now is physical freedom.
It is somewhat amazing that the so called leadership of this country could callously throw away such a central freedom of our American society on a medium that has been the pinnacle of free speech. It was self regulating(well, sort of). Ideas spread quickly, at very low cost to the speaker. It was mostly harmless.
Until recently, I was terribly surprised if anything that happened on the net ended up in the mainstream news. I had the impression that it was somewhat divorced from most of the problems of 'real' life. Conversely, very little in the real world materially affected the net. Sure people would talk about it, but no lasting change was noticed.
This page is one example of the power of the net. This media is the first time that I have ever published for an audience of more than my friends or classmates. I hope that it isn't the last.
Those who would sacrifice an essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security. Ben Franklin was right then, and he still is today.
Eric Soroos, Student and now Publisher.