[Prev| Next| Index] 02/22/96, MMco@Deltanet.com , Burbank, California, USA

[Image]  Human Rights Essay [Image]

I have 2 boys who, because of a divorce that took over 8 years to become
final, they almost never saw me during that time. They, nonetheless have
made me very proud of them by working their way through ITT Technical
College. They both are working in the computer industry. For Christmas this
year, I gave them Internet accounts. My hopes for my boys are that they be
able as I have, to use the Internet for intellectual enrichment. I do not
wish for someone who may at sometime in the future object to what they
might say to be able to stop them from saying what ever it might be. After
all, there is nothing that is not indecent to someone. For instance ...
During the Gulf War, I had access to all the live feeds via private dish. I
found the change in the story from what I saw on the live feed from the
Mideast and the story in its edited form to be an indecent perversion of
the news. Without having seen the original story, no one could possibly
know of the perversion, or how indecent those broadcasts were. I wish to
protect my children from those who would intentionally pervert current
events for their own purposes. The most reasonable way to achieve that is
full freedom of speech on the Internet. I wish also for my boys to be able
to research topics of their own interest. All of which will be indecent to
someone somewhere sometime. Just consider for a moment that the Catholic
Church considered Martin Luther indecent and has never excommunicated
Hitler ... Go figure.

The USA is supposed to have a Democratic Republic with as Thomas Jefferson
said God given inalienable rights. What we have is an indirect democracy.
Just what is the difference? Once upon a time there were 3 cannibal tribes.
One was a pure democracy, the next was an indirect democracy, and the third
was a democratic republic with protected rights. There came a time in the
history of each if these tribes due primarily to drought that each was
placed in the position where they were taking a vote. The vote was to
determine where they would get their next meal. In the pure democracy, they
decided by vote that the fattest one would be their next meal because he
also would have eaten the most. In the indirect democracy, each house voted
for a representative who went to the tribe council meeting where they voted
the fattest member of the tribe into their next meal. In the democratic
republic there was much open discussion during which they determined to go
the long distance to the sea and catch some fish. This last tribe would
have loved to take the lazy route like the first to tribes and vote the
fattest member of the tribe into their next meal. The reason that they did
not is that it would have violated one of the rights they hold as
inalienable. When our ability to speak freely in any forum is limited we
are just moments away from being voted into the next meal of some lazy
group that just want to stay lazy. Lets protect our children from that
indecent fate.

     "If the First Amendment means anything, it means that a State has
     no business telling a man, sitting alone in his own house what
     books he may read or what films he may watch"
                             --Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall

The right to freedom of speech includes according to the US Supreme Court,
the right to say nothing and the right to choose to whom I might speak. My
right to privacy (fourth amendment) gives me the right to hide nothing.
This is why I use PGP. I send a love letter in an envelope instead of on a
post card for the same reason.

My web page was black for 48 hours to protest the violation of my right to
freedom of speech. You may still view my black protest Page.

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Last changed: 23 FEB 1996

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Copyright © 1996 Bruce R. Wenholz