Aren't we lucky!
Here we are in the midst of a virtual revolution yet we remain, for the most part, unscathed.
Think the Internet:
In the beginning it was whatever we pleased. For a few short years we cooperated; we collaborated; we helped one another succeed. There was true freedom, not set-asides, not parities, not equal opportunity, not affirmative action, not price supports, not anti-trust. There was no "You can't do this because it's against the law," or "You can't do that because I say so."
Then came the bureaucrats, the blue noses, the opportunists, the regulator types, the criminals, the police, the protectors of whomever...children, aged, handicapped, technologically and culturally challenged. Was it just evolution?
But, there's money to be made. Clever ones start to charge to prove suitability, to prove you're an adult, to find information, to access information, to sell things. Entrepreneurs set up shops, auctions, and places of business. Commercialization arrived and it continues.
What's next? Naturally, there's going to be more commercialization and with it, perhaps, more regulation...in spades. And, more speed...digital subscriber lines (DSL), broadband, satellite, cable...you name it. It grows and grows. Life as we know it will change--for better or for worse. It's a revolution!
What happened to freedom? Is it impossible for us to exercise enough self-control to self-govern? Do we need "authorities" to tell us what we can and cannot do? Do we need taxes to spread the wealth? Do we need regulation to provide security? So it would seem, but at what cost?
OK! Money is the root of all evil...and, perhaps, the source of all power. Maybe that's good! There is, and always will be, good and evil and crime and poverty. Regulation and taxes have not, and will not change that. Neither will freedom, for that matter. But whether rich or poor, righteous or criminal, people have always sought freedom.
The Internet is not a life form. It will not follow a life cycle: hospital? (birth), home, school, work, home (retirement), and hospital? (Death). It is neither a nation nor a continent. It is without boundaries or loyalties. It is more like a universe of its own. It's freedom in the raw.
Forget the "authorities." It is still within our power to exercise the self-control necessary to know and do what is right, to live and let live, to allow this virtual world, the Internet, to evolve unencumbered, naturally. Let us be like the brightest and the best.
Get the upper hand!
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Last Modified
March 27, 2001.