SOPA – Who said People can’t make a difference?

One of the fundamental tenants of freedom and democracy is Government by the People, for the People.

The operative word being ‘by’. ‘By’ being synonymous with participation.

The very real and emerging alternative is Government by the Corporation, for the Corporation.

That’s called (and is the definition of) Fascism.

The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism — ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.
Franklin D. Roosevelt April 29, 1938. Message to congress.

Fascism is bad – every year we remember the millions of men and women who gave their lives fighting fascism is the 1940′s and earlier. We lay reefs of flowers, salute, and proclaim ‘lest we forget’.

Seems we’ve become a bit complacent in the ‘lest we forget’ department. Fascism is alive and well in the USA/West and it’s making aggressive inroads into our freedom.

SOPA and PIPA are prime examples of Fascism (starts with what seems like a good idea at the time). They must be defeated and the proponents of this legislation removed from office.

No one’s saying that online copyright violations are not an issue, we’re just saying find a way to deal with it without destroying the Internet and/or making us all criminals.

One of the concerns we have with the ‘by’ part of ‘by the people’ is the sense that we can’t make a difference anyway, so why bother?

That’s a cop out. The way I see it is you can’t take freedom for granted, your participation is required. It doesn’t mean you have to run for office, it simply means being aware, participating in a political dialogue, and voting judiciously, either with your formal vote, your wallet, and/or your feet.

The Internet communities’ reaction and response to the SOPA and PIPA issue is nothing short of inspiring.

“This is altogether a new effect,” Mr. Dodd said, comparing the online movement to the Arab Spring. He could not remember seeing “an effort that was moving with this degree of support change this dramatically” in the last four decades, he added.
New York Times

If you’re convinced that your voice can’t make a difference take a look at these stats. Seems that 13 million people think differently and, as a result, these bills, once considered a slam dunk are now on the ropes.

People (you) can make a difference. Freedom is worth fighting for. At this point SOPA and PIPA have been postponed indefinately but the fight needs to go on.