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                        The Consent of the Governed

I agree with the Declaration of Independence.

     We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
     equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
     unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the
     pursuit of Happiness; that to secure these rights, Governments
     are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the
     consent of the governed...

Even in this age, those words challenge popular ideals of government. We
want government to protect us, to protect our children against our own
negligence. When presented with a problem, we first ask ourselves "How can
the government fix this?"

Listen to Senator Exon, the main advocate of the Communications Decency
Act:

     "The information superhighway is a revolution that in years to
     come will transcend newspapers, radio, and television as an
     information source. Therefore, I think this is the time to put
     some restrictions on it."

Exon brought his new laws to the Internet. Because of his efforts,
Washington banned all communications of "indecent" material to a minor,
effectively restricting all publicly-available material to the lowest
common denominator of maturity.

This stops discussion of many important issues. Talk of sexual practices
must remain clinical, perhaps too clinical to reach those who need
information the most. Writers of erotica, both literary and otherwise, must
watch their words. The Supreme Court calls this a "chilling effect,"
reminding us that the censorship silences far more people through fear than
it punishes through law.

Of course, no price is too large to pay if it protects our children,
according to certain influential people:

     And, yes, on-line services can tell the differences between swill
     and Shakespeare -- the new law is readily enforceable. Some free
     marketeers contend the anti-porn provisions will slow development
     of the internet. They exaggerate, but even if they're right,
     tough. Our children come first. -Family Research Council Press
     Release, 8 February 1996

Our government and our online services do know the difference between
"swill and Shakespere." They studied Shakespere in school, after all, and
surely remember his name. But can our government tell the difference
between between swill and Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass? Between swill and
the works of some aspiring young poet, out to challenge our tired views of
life?

Government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed. We
must judge for ourselves what is swill and what is Shakespere.

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                         [24 Hours of Democracy]

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          [In Xanadu] [Free Speech] [The Consent of the Governed]

      Written 22 February 1996 by Eric Kidd (eric.kidd@dartmouth.edu)
                       Copyright 1995-1996 Eric Kidd

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