In the United States, we’ve
gotten to the point where the election isn’t about us voting for the people who
will run the government the best. Rather it is about voting for the person who
is the more convincing liar and who seems to be the one that will screw us over
the less. The fact of the matter, is that the recent news about the Stop Online
Piracy Act and other like attempts to regulate the free exchange of information
should come as no surprise to no one. In fact, the real surprise is that it
didn’t happen sooner.
Piracy is a problem, but not to
the extent the entertainment industry would like to believe. They would like to
make money by putting the same substandard rubbish that is unoriginal and
uninspiring. Remakes, sequels, about the same story being told time and time
again. Music CDs chalked with perhaps one or two songs that are good and a
bunch of tacky filler that was thrown together in approximately five minutes.
Comic books which get stretched out, forcing people to pay three-four dollars
to get a small fraction of the story, stretched along for absurd lengths, with
tie in after tie being released.
Have some people turned to
piracy? Many yes, but many not for the reasons why the entertainment industry
would like to assume. The fact is that in this day and age, people prefer to
get their material by digital means. Some companies have grown a brain and are
offering that digital alternative, but others refuse to get with the times.
Also due to the fact that a lot
of the material they put out often quite frankly is not worth the price that
they are putting it on. With the economy being the way it is, people are going
to choose wisely but even with the economy being in better spirits, there is
only so much substandard content you can put out before people stop taking the
bait. It is much easier to blame the big bad piracy boogeyman than overhaul your
entire business structure to something a bit more modern and take up some pride
in your work.
This SOPA act scares people and
for good reason. Don’t think the government is not going to abuse any and all
loop holes that they find it in. It gives them the right to shut down websites
for Internet Piracy but it also gives them the license to shut down websites
for “internet piracy”. For example, if Joe Blogger has an opinion that a lot of
people read and causes people to question the almighty American government that
might not be something to get handled. So they get Joe Blogger’s webpage shut
up on allegations of “Internet Piracy”. Or they plant said links there
themselves.
The government represents that we
“choose” are in reality being lead around by the people who have the most money
and they are willing to use the benefits of that relationship to spread propaganda
when they can. Its win-win for everyone involved. It is a sickening, depraved
combination but it has some truth. The news media obviously isn’t going to want
to tell the American public their rights are being infringed upon, because it
would loosen their grip of telling the American public what they should.
The Internet offers a free voice
and it’s amazing that there has not been some kind of control. A very hot button
issue and one that has been blown out of proportion by the entertainment
industry is used as a smoke screen, to limit the opposition to the media, the
entertainment industry, big business, and their political puppets.
In the end, if this gets through,
be afraid. Be very afraid. We’re going to see a horrific backlash the likes of
which this country has never seen. Occupy Wall Street will look like a tea
party.
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