The topic of politics produces many different reactions with many people I know - apathetic and anger are the most common feelings towards the subject.
Which is why it was unusual to see so many people posting their opposition to a bill yesterday (known as SOPA) that would severely cripple the Internet by giving the government the power to shut down sites that possess copyrighted material.
While I don't have exact numbers on how the online protests, led by Google and a self-blackout by Wikipedia, actually worked, what I do know is that a bill about to be voted on by Congress actually got the attention of the general public. A main reason for this is that it directly impacts just about everyone who relies on the Internet for personal, business & informational purposes.
This popularity of protesting a bill may be done in vain, but it brings up an important thought: how can the American public get this interested in more political matters?
They're crooks, liars & can't be trusted...
They're all the same--all scumbags...
Why vote for the lesser of two evils?
These above statements will keep many people away from voting. Honestly, most of these thoughts have kept me from voting.
Don't get me wrong, I have my political views. Everything I read about most candidates does not fit my views, so I'm never inspired to vote for anyone. This apathy is prevalent with many people I know, and it could be one of the reasons why the political system is broken. If the citizens aren't going to give a crap about who is in office, then those who are actually voted in aren't going to give a crap about what they do in office since many of the people they "represent" choose to ignore or generalize everything the politician does as crooked.
My attempt at "getting involved"
With this SOPA thing, I decided to sign a few online petitions and also emailed a few representatives, including both US Senators of Illinois.
One of them actually replied back this afternoon:
Dear Mr. Bolek:
Thank you for contacting me about the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), S. 968,and its House of Representatives companion, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). I appreciate your input and want to let you know my view on this important issue.
I stand with those who stand for freedom in opposing PIPA in its current form. Freedom of speech is an inalienable right granted to each and every American, and the Internet has become the primary tool with which we utilize this right. The Internet empowers Americans to learn, create, innovate, and express their views. While we should protect American intellectual property, consumer safety and human rights,we should do so in a manner that specifically targets criminal activity. The extreme measures taken in PIPA not only stifle First Amendment rights but also hamper innovation on the Internet.
S.968, as currently written, allows for abuse of our Constitutional rights, giving the Attorney General sweeping powers to block domain names of websites they deem "dedicated to infringing activities".Under current law, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act requires service providers to block access toonly infringing material, but S. 968 would block access to entire websites that may carry a page containing infringing material generated by a third-party user. In my view, this is an unacceptable violation of our First Amendment rights. I also worry this type of censorship will be used as a model for foreign repressive regimes to censor the web within their own countries.
S.968 also places too great a burden on small Internet startups, as the bill would provide a private right of action to copyright owners. Since the bill would force the takedown of an entire site, not just the specific infringing page, it would hold user-generated websites liable for any content posted. This fear of liability and resulting uncertainty will cripple innovation on the Internet, one of our greatest economic engines.
I am also concerned about the bill's provisions that would undermine the security of the entire Internet.Network engineers and cyber security experts warn the technical implementation of the Domain Name System blocking requirement cannot function with the new security protocols, also known as DNSSEC, currently being implemented across the worldwide web.
While I support the underlying goals of the bill to crack down on online intellectual property theft, I believe PIPA in its current form is unacceptable. It will have widespread unintended consequences that will stifle freedom of speech and Internet innovation across the globe. This bill places far too much regulation on the Internet and will impact more than just those foreign "rogue" websites for which it is intended. I cannot support a bill that recklessly tampers with the Internet and our inalienable rights as citizens of a free nation.
Thank you for taking the time to contact me on this issue. Please feel free to contact me at (312) 886-3506 or online at http://kirk.senate.gov if you have any questions or concerns before Congress or the federal government. It is an honor to serve you in the Senate.
Very truly yours,
Mark Kirk
U.S. Senate
This letter was refreshing to read on several levels: (1) the senator actually responded (I don't know if this is common or not); (2) he supports the people who hate PIPA/SOPA "in its current form"; (3) based on a letter my friend Jason received from the same senator on the matter last month, Kirk's stance on it then (more pro-PIPA/SOPA) versus now shows that pressure applied by citzens to its representatives can actually change a person's stance on matters.
(Note - part 3 here, I don't consider it "flip-flopping" - people change their minds in the face of other people's thoughts on matters more than we'd like to believe)
The question remains - will I become more politically active or at least try educating myself better on politicians and their views?
In any regard, if I do, I don't see myself aligning with one party like many people do. I won't get into what I'd look for in an ideal politician based on my views - no one needs to know the specifics.
I do think that we'd benefit as a society if we all became a little more involved politically. Let's hope we do it soon before America turns into as oppressive of a country as some where education and information become stifled by massive censorship and state-controlled media.
If we do, perhaps (and I say this with some delusion) Big Brother will listen instead of just its normal watching.
