[ Prev | Next | Index ] Wed Feb 21 23:15:45 MST 1996 :
carolco@privateI.com, Louisville, Colorado USA

                         DEMOCRACY AND THE FUTURE
                                 Carol Coen

The First Amendment was dying, to begin with.

Not like Marley, who was as dead as a doornail, but surely hanging by a
tiny thread. It was February 8, 1996, and Bill, that weak-kneed,
indecisive, please-everybody politician had just signed the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, which included a small but nonetheless
reprehensive bit of legislation that rang the death knell for our beloved
First Amendment. I heard the tolling even as I wearily slipped into my desk
chair, and connected for what might very well be the last time.

What could be done? Our government, based on the Constitution, was trying
to take away my rights as an individual to view what I wanted, read what I
wanted and write what I wanted - something that had been guaranteed to me
by the very document that had created the government who were trying to
take it away from me. My head swam with images of bloated politicians,
misguided ministers, and plain, ordinary folks, committing atrocities in
the name of God and the protection of society's masses. I saw women,
screaming in agony as flames roared and licked at the stakes to which they
were tied; I watched as black American citizens were denied admittance to a
white restaurant by men, wrapped up in white sheets and masks, who were
holding flaming crosses. I turned to see books being piled in barrels and
burned, with the titles "Huckleberry Finn" and "The Hardy Boys Mysteries",
books I had loved as a child. Behind the barrel, two men were exchanging
something - the slimy looking one was taking an enormous amount of money
from a well-dressed man, and giving him a small bottle of what looked like
whiskey. Over across the street, in that field, I could see hundreds of
Japanese people who had become American citizens, being herded into large
cattle pens; along the street where I stood, I heard neighbors reporting
neighbors as "pinkos" to uniformed officers. And over by that bar, a pair
of men were being beaten within an inch of their lives by a mob of angry
young men who were yelling "Faggots" and "Queers".

I awoke as I became aware of a very slight tapping on my arm, and a little
voice saying "Excuse me, EXCUSE ME, EXCUSE ME!" I slowly raised my head and
on opening my bleary eyes, looked right into the eyes of a small mouse who
was standing on his hind legs, arms crossed and foot tapping. He had a very
exasperated scowl on his tiny features. As my mouth dropped, he said quite
distinctly, "No, you're not dreaming now, and really, those dreams you just
thought you had were put there by me. Yes, me! I am the Mouse of Ignorance
Past, and I am REALLY getting tired of having to repeat myself over and
over to you Humans! Do you never learn from your Past? I just
don't..EEEEEEK!"

This last squeek was the result of the mouse's tail being sat upon by a
rather large pig, who suddenly appeared on my desk. He was a jolly pink
fellow, with sparkly eyes and a winning smile. He winked at me and said,
"Of course they don't learn from their past. Just look at their present!
Look at that Communications Decency Act that was signed today! But without
their ignorance, what would we do?"

This last remark was directed at the scowling little mouse, who was rubbing
his tail fiercely. I groaned and asked the pig, "Who are you? The Pig of
Ignorance, Present?" much to the delight of the mouse. The pig ducked his
head, harumphed and muttered, "I prefer The Pig of Present Ignorance, if
you please, and I must say, I am seeing a lot of ignorance in this era!"

"Now wait a minute!" I exclaimed defensively. "I agree that the politicians
have been stupid, especially with this attempt to regulate morality AGAIN,
but we have done a lot in my era to eliminate ignorance! Why for example,
look at the great books that have been written in my time, look at the
programs on radio and TV! What TV's done to communicate knowledge across
the world is incredible!" I was just getting warmed up when I noticed the
mouse snickering. Glaring, I said, "WHAT?!" Barely suppressing a chuckle he
replied, "Oh nothing. I was just thinking about the OJ Simpson case on TV!
My, THAT was educational!!" Even the pig chortled at that, although he
tried to hide it. "Agreed, you started off well, what with color TV and
some wonderfully advanced shows like that Trek thing and the great Dr. Who!
And that excellent book, 'Atlas Shrugged'! Yes, a marvelous book! Your
desire to learn and to share information was laudatory early in this
century, but the progress that has been made since you all went online with
this Internet thing - truly exemplary!! But what a colossal act of
ignorance this Telecommunications Act is, and how ignorant are you people
for allowing it?!"

"Yeah, about 3 million other users and I agree with you," I shrugged. "But
the law passed. It's too late! All that knowledge might be regulated out of
existence! The service providers can't afford to even run ANY newsgroup,
because it might have something "obscene" in it. Web pages may have to be
censored, as well as email. Everyone will stop using the Internet if they
think that someone else is reading messages they send in private to their
friends. And what service provider wants to be put in the position of
trying to determine just what is "obscene"? It's easier and safer for them
to just shut down! What else can they do?"

A cold wind blew through the room just then. I reached over to close the
window and nearly jumped out of my chair. Standing in the shadows of the
corner stood an enormous bald eagle. His head topped four feet, and his
shiny eye was nearly level with mine. He cocked his head and pinned me to
the chair with a baleful look. "Give it up?! That's what you'd do?! How
dare you call yourself an American!" he snorted disdainfully. "Well, what
CAN I do?" I asked. "I am only one person, one voice, one vote. I can't
make any difference!" Again the eagle snorted and fixed me with that steely
glare. "Look there!" he commanded as he pointed his beak towards my still
flickering computer.

I looked in awe at the screen as images began to appear and move on my
monitor. First, I saw men boarding an old ship, and throwing tea overboard.
Next, I saw women marching in the streets with signs that said "Give Women
the Vote". As this image faded, it was replaced by another of two groups of
soldiers marching towards each other, some in grey and some in blue. This
image blurred then cleared, showing a concert in the middle of a field with
millions in attendance. I could hear the singer on the stage saying,"
Gimmee an F!" just before that image changed to one of a huge crowd of
people standing, sitting, swaying and singing, "We shall overcome!"

The eagle rustled his feathers and sighed. I turned to him and said,
"You're from the future, right? Well, what do you see in our future? In the
future of the Internet?" "I see a blank computer screen, with a keyboard
piled with dust. The mouse is cracked and has fallen on the floor...."

"STOP!" I yelled. "If that is what is to be, why are you here, why are you
showing me these pictures?"

"There is still a chance that what I see won't come to pass, but it is up
to you. You and your voice are the true meaning of democracy. These images
show that democracy in action. Your voice might be just one, but combined
with one more, then one more, then on and on, louder and louder, the voice
of the people is finally heard. In your history, the people have changed
the course of their government, when their government overstepped its
bounds. Things have been pretty quiet here lately; don't you think it's
time to make a little noise, stir up a little discontent? As one voice, you
can get the ball rolling, get those other voices who have been silent up to
now together. Use your given right to speak your minds and you will
strengthen that thread that the First Amendment is hanging on! Get with it,
get off your butt, speak your piece! Together, you will be surprised at
what can occur!"

The eagle spread his wings and disappeared. As I turned back to my desk, I
discovered the mouse and pig were also gone. But on my computer screen, I
read these words, "We, THE PEOPLE...." Smiling, I began to type.

  PLEASE JOIN ME! LET'S FIGHT CENSORSHIP IN ALL ITS SHAPES AND FORMS. ADD
                             YOUR VOICE TODAY!

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[Image] carolco@privateI.com