[ Prev | Next | Index ] Wed Feb 21 22:58:24 MST 1996 :
dberliN@peddie.k12.nj.us, Ocean Township, New Jersey USA

                                  Reality

                               Daniel Berlin

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     I had heard of the Communications Decency Act a while back, when it
     was in it's early stages, and being involved in working on a term
     paper, and various other things that I felt more important at the
     time, didn't pay much attention to it. I had always figured it was
     another attempt by congress to regulate something that would be shot
     down by people who knew what it really meant. This meaning being the
     destruction of free speech on the Internet.

     And Then I woke up.

     On the morning of February 8th, I had about 100 some-odd new inbox
     messages from various Listserv's that I subscribe to, and considered
     it normal.

     After deleting most of them, I noticed I had about 10 or so messages
     from people with a subject of CDA, and one or two about our web page,
     and something about black.

     I read them.

     And a reality hit me in the face quite hard.

     A reality I did not want to face.

     The bill I had not paid much attention too, had been passed, and
     signed into law.

     It was then I realized that I was silent when I should have screamed.

     My mind was somewhere else besides classes that day.

     I was thinking of all the ramifications of this bill, and what it
     meant.

     I realized that this destruction of the first amendment had been made
     possible by a simple flaw.

     Knowledge is power.

     Congress and the Senate were attempting to exert power over something
     they had no knowledge of.

     I could not justify the landslide vote in any other way.

     If those without knowledge refuse to stop irresponsibly wielding
     power, then it is the job of the people affected to take a stand
     against them.

     No longer should we be silent.

     The time has come for screaming. f

     Daniel Berlin

     16 Year Old

     Citizen of the US

     And don't you congressmen and congresswomen forget it.

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[Image] dberliN@peddie.k12.nj.us