Why it won't work and what they really could do (Score 0)

First of all, whoever has power will NOT relinquish it.(read some Machiavelli people, really) It's a fact of the matter that the system works now but only because caring and dedicated geeks around the world have colaborated in a true global and human fashion to make it worth having. Whenever we see corporations and governments encroaching upon the liberty and de facto standards of behavior in regards to the internet there is an outcry from the internet community and people mobilize to fix, change, or augment that intrusion on them. And yes I say them, because at its heart the internet is way for every human being to connect and communicate individually with each other, but also to group similarly minded individuals into a larger force of epic proportions. This is why the governments argue over the internet. To control the flow of information is to control the modern world. It is foolish to say that whatever control governments have now or wish to have in the near future would allow anything close to 1984 (i.e. direct manipulation of history, philosophy, and thought) but the more "oversight" is allowed the more they can use this power to "nudge" information and trends in the direction they see fit. The reason the internet stands as our greatest accomplishment is the fact that it is free, uncensored(mostly), and allows people to share themselves in ways our grandparents and maybe even our parents could never have imagined in their youthful heydays.

Imagine for a moment, oh Slashdot reader, if there was no Slashdot. No Ebay, no forums, no email, no net porn ;) There is no way for you to communicate with people on a global or even a regional scale. Your circle of knowledge and influence would almost extend as far as you could yell. But fortunately for us, smart and gregarious(find the joke... ;) ) people had the idea to connect the world and SHARE ideas and information. FREEDOM - the underlying motivation and intent of the internet. The best way to explain why allowing more "oversight" and "management" will ruin what we have built is the old adage about too many hands in the pot. Fragmenting the control and governance of the internet will only lead to subjugation. Now someone will want to pop me accusing me that I'm saying that handing the net over the Euros will destroy it all. That is NOT what I am saying. We would be handing control to a group that is not *US* (the universal we, the thinkers, the geeks, independant of country of origin and united by true principles of good human interaction) The politicians have an agenda, make no mistake about it. And to answer the charge that I make the case for the American government to continue where it is because "I'm American and we're God's people"; I say that is also NOT my intent. The reason our system works now is *because* it is globally controlled. If you consider how the management of the internet is done now you begin to understand that the American government cannot impose its will and directive on the internet because excepting things like criminal activity, they CAN NOT shut down, alter, change, interfere, and fuck with the internet WITHOUT DESTROYING WHAT IT IS. The internet has become a form of life unto itself. An idea as literally spawned into a reality in such a way to be almost limitless in its potential to raise the human understanding to a level that we could never truely come to by ourselves. The idea that we are truely *WE*, humans, homo sapiens...not americans, or europeans, or arabs, or africans, or asians. People united by ideaology instead of blood, country, or ethicity. We have finally leveled the playing field to the place where it always should have been, the mind. Humans are humans because we think. Good humans are good because they regard the thoughts and concerns of other humans as sacred and valuable, an insight into others is an insight into yourself. And look what we have done, my geek brothers and sisters(few as you are, to my sadness ;) represent ladies!). BBS, forums, blogs, livejournals, meetup, ebay, google, slashdot, email, etc etc etc etc.... WE have built the road to a new level of human understanding.


So that brings us, fellow netizens, to what they can really do about it...NOTHING. We dont need them, they wish to parent us into doing what they feel is best for us. The role of governments is to protect and serve the governed, who should consent to this governance and participate in it. The role of governments SHOULD NOT be to babysit the masses as if they are stupid children who need to be fed correct ideas and be protected from "bad stuff". People everywhere are capable of rational and intelligent thoughts if they only but allow their minds to be opened. The internet serves this purpose. I await with cautious anticipation the world of our children, who will have been born and raised with the whole world and the sum of human knowledge at its beck and call. But that day will be soured if we allow this pennacle of human achievement to be degraded to a lowly informational resource whose content has been ravaged and pruned by people whose intentions are dubious at best. What I advocate is LESS oversight and meddling. Free The Net! Automate and dehumanize the actual infrastructure. The less humanity there is in the *workings* of the internet the more room there will be in the *content* for the highest ideals and thoughts we possess. So go forth, intelligent people, and fight to remove the stain of governmental interferance and corporate interests. They only win if we let them.