Every now and then I like to chime in on what's happening in the political arena. This time around, can I afford to ignore the rumors spinning around this "net neutrality" legislation that is expected to be approved tomorrow? I'm not going to get into the detail of net neutrality and the use or misuse of the term. Instead, I think it's better to look at the underlying issue here.
I've heard this new regulation could, according to the New York Times, potentially make the Internet like a public utility. It's only supposed to affect large corporations such as Internet providers, but that's more than enough to interrupt a very sensitive equilibrium on the Internet highway where even the slightest edge or advantage matters. The ideology seems clear enough: Socialist America butting heads with Corporate America in a perpetual fiasco that leaves the common person in the dust. This is just the latest installment in the saga. The Internet is powered, organized and propagated by large corporations that have opened up new markets through search engine optimization and social media. If the government puts restrictions on corporations like Google and Facebook, we -- the everyday users -- are the ones who will be affected the most. Sure, some large corporations have overused and abused their freedoms in our free market system, but only after the people voluntarily made those corporations a significant part of their lives. The common American's relationship with Internet tycoons may be one he has learned to regret, but it is a relationship that grew by his own volition -- for better or worse. Here we have a federal government that is out of touch with the people, giving them things they don't want, imposing its will in unimaginable ways, and becoming more and more intertwined with our everyday lives without us even having the chance to say anything about it. Who did we vote into office? This is not like us. It doesn't even matter to what degree the Federal Communications Commission gets its hands in Internet affairs. The whole concept is a threat to the free world. Does anyone even see or care what is happening? If you do, please vow to get more involved in politics in whatever way you can. I shall do the same. It is time for the people to stop this madness. I have been haunted by the thought that if America does not remain free, there really is nowhere else in the world to go. Every generation of Americans has to fight for its freedom against the pressing influences of socialism, authoritarianism, utilitarianism, and many other threatening ideologies that change their faces multiple times within a century. This new "net neutrality" is an example of how we need to fight bad ideologies today. No worries though really. There will always be a large group of bright, intuitive, resilient freedom fighters who will give up for nothing in their struggle to be truly independent. This is one thing that unites us as Americans: the vitality to live as we want. Our lifestyles encompass every end of every spectrum and everything in between, but we are unified in the philosophy that we should be allowed to live how we want, read what we want, listen to whatever we like, search for whatever we want wherever and however we desire. Some may think that I am opposed to this kind of culture due to my Catholic faith. To that I would say, "Why do you think Catholics came to this country in the first place?" For the same freedom we still have to fight to keep. Read more about this issue at: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/technology/path-clears-for-net-neutrality-ahead-of-fcc-vote.html?_r=0 http://www.wsj.com/articles/l-gordon-crovitz-from-internet-to-obamanet-1424644324