2/22/96, chapsy@aol.com, Pittsburgh, PA USA

Democracy/Freedom of Speech/Internet, etc....

     By S.P. Chapler, M.D., .
     Copyright 1996, S.P. Chapler, M.D.

     Who has the responsibility of 'protecting' our children from the
     evils of the internet? Moral value systems and ethics come from
     the family, however you define 'family'. A child should know the
     difference between right and wring, good and bad. the child
     learns from the parent figure(s). The thing is, people, by
     nature, are curious. Curious about different
     opinions/attitudes/lifestyles, etc. Censoring or deleting this
     information from any medium will not extinguish the curiosity
     innate in all people. We may agree, disagree, whatever, but let
     us at least have the opportunity to be exposed to different
     ideas.

     Censorship? Monitoring? It's all crap. We, as Americans, have the
     right (some feel, the duty) to express ourselves. We now have a
     relatively new and untested medium with which to share ideas.
     This scares some people, especially those unfamiliar with the
     philosophy of democracy and freedom of speech and the
     constitution.

     There's 'bad stuff' all over the place--in neighborhoods, homes,
     projects, streets, television, magazines, newspapers, books--
     it's not just the Internet where new and sometimes controversial
     ideas are exposed to public scrutiny. There is always the option
     of going to a different website if you end up someplace where you
     are not comfortable. Check out some wholesome website-it's not
     all evil and the 'evil' will always be there...what about
     thestack of girlie mags under the t-shirts in Dad's dresser
     drawer........think the kids never take a peek? If a kid is
     curious, so what...he/she will find the answers somewhere, either
     print or video media , if not computer.

     Oh, by the way, since this a democratic nation, shouldn't the
     people have a say in what is governed by government rule? Are we
     allowed to vote on this issue?

     Freedom of speech

     ...just think about the words........................

     Peace