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1996-03-11
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Shannon Taylor
[Image] [ Prev | Next | Index ] 2/14/96, [Image]
shay@frugal.com
Washington State, USA
How I feel about the Internet, Free Speech and The telecommunications
bill & Decency Act
Essay By Shannon Taylor, shay@frugal.com.
------------------------------------------------------------
My name is Shannon Taylor. I am married, female, 26 years old, and I
live in the Puget Sound area of Washington State.
"The Internet"
What is it? Many things to many people wouldn't you say?
I spend much of my time out here in cyberspace. I like it out here.
Why? Well it is so unlimited. There is no better source for
information, no better way to communicate with others. There is so
much friendship, camaraderie, helpfulness, diversity and a great sense
of community here. It is truly a worldwide community as well. I have
spoken to people all over the world, which is something I never have
done before. I have information at my fingertips, unlimited resources
at my disposal. Right here in my living room? DonÆt you just find that
amazing? What a technological accomplishment!
I would say that whatever it is you want, whatever you are interested
in, whatever you would like to learn about, or discover- is here! It
isnÆt bottle fed to me either, I am in charge. I can go and look at
whatever I want, whenever I want to see it. I have the right to choose
what I see or donÆt see. Not only that, I have my own home page. I can
put whatever I want there. I couldnÆt publish my own newspaper, I
couldnÆt display my artwork on any street corner but I can publish my
own home page. It is available to anyone around the world. Wow! Really
The Internet is everything and anything..... It is unbiased and
uncensored, whatever you want is here- well, up until now anyway.
There are those who want to take that away from you and I!
I donÆt know about you, but that just makes me mad!
Probably the Internet means something different to you.
Maybe it is a way for you to easily and cost effectively communicate
with relatives or friends that live far away.
Maybe you use it for work, and it helps you to be more productive.
Maybe you use it to get important information you have out to others.
Maybe you sell your products or services, or you buy products or
services.
Maybe you use it to get the news, or listen to a sports broadcast.
Maybe you just waste time out here. Maybe you use it to meet new
people.
Maybe you download software, or maybe you even download .......
PORNOGRAPHY!
Some people think that is what it is all about- PORNOGRAPHY!
Protecting children from pornography. Certainly they arenÆt trying to
protect me- IÆm an adult over the age of 21 and if I want to view
PORNOGRAPHY then I will. I can rent it at the video store, buy a book
or magazine, go to a movie, call a BBS, and I should even be able to
view it on the Internet..... So if the issue is not keeping it from
me, but your children, then there are better ways to do that. You can
take action and protect yourself and your children. IT IS YOUR
RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN. If you think it should be the
governments or anyone elseÆs responsibility then you donÆt deserve to
have children. There are children being shot and killed right on our
streets. Children are being killed this very moment by guns, by drunk
drivers and even their own parents. ShouldnÆt you be concerned about
that? There are children being raped, molested and abused by not only
strangers, but their own parents. ShouldnÆt you take action against
this? The government doesnÆt seem to be able to do much about these
tragic things, so why do you think they will be able to keep
PORNOGRAPHY from your children?
Well, leaving that aside, there are people who want to censor all
sorts of things, anywhere from what we watch, to what music we listen
to, to what we eat and drink. Why? It is your responsibility to
protect yourself and your children. If you donÆt like what is on TV
then change the channel. That goes for anything else. You canÆt
legislate morality. Who decides what is right and wrong? We are a free
country, for now. We should all be worried about keeping our freedom.
You are allowed to worship God the way you see fit because we are a
free country. What if you couldnÆt? What if someone decided to tell
you when, where and how to worship? If you think restriction, control
and censorship is the way to go because you donÆt like or do whatever
the issue happens to be at the moment, then you should beware. It will
come around to you. One day it will be something you believe in that
will be threatened. We arenÆt talking about PORNOGRAPHY, we are
talking about FREE SPEECH! This does affect us all.
If you are on the Internet then either it is something you hold dear,
and want to protect, or if not then why donÆt you get off the Internet
and stop trying to spoil it for everyone else. If you live in this
country then our freedoms, our Constitution and the right to free
speech is something you hold dear and want to protect or if not, then
why do you live here? Why not move to some country where you can go to
jail for saying what you think. If you are really concerned about
protecting your children from pornography, then there are better ways
to accomplish that than taking away our rights. All of our rights-
eventually the rights of the children you wish to protect. Most of us
have no idea how misinformed we really are. The news media puts their
own slant on what they say. They have their own agenda. DO NOT FOLLOW
BLINDLY ALONG! Inform yourself. Find out what is really going on.
Protect your rights!
Please donÆt sit idly by and watch as basic freedoms are being stolen
from us. Do Something! Even if that means just being informed.
-Shannon
"When they took the fourth amendment,
I was quiet because I didn't deal drugs.
When they took the sixth amendment,
I was quiet because I was innocent.
When they took the second amendment,
I was quiet because I didn't own a gun.
Now they've taken the first amendment,
and I can say nothing about it."
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Keywords: "Washington", "Puget Sound", "www.frugal.com", "Freedom".