"He who controls information controls the world."
Adolf Hitler understood this. So did Ceausescu. And Branco. These men forged tyrannical regimes based upon regulating and monitoring the control of information through censorship laws and government propaganda channels. In some cases, they could control a person's life because the only means of attaining knowledge were tightly managed by a single political entity committed to the dictatorship's survival.
Now America's government seems bent on a similar path, only its approach involves a far less romanticized view of the world. Instead of propaganda, the U.S. Government intends to simply cut off the supply of information and isolate its availability to central (and quite biased) news providers.
The passage of the Stop Online Piracy Act signals America's journey down this route to tyranny because it severely cripples the one remaining free source of media in the country: the world wide web. Under its provisions, simply incorporating copyrighted media unto one's blog or YouTube video can result in a felony conviction, thus ensuring that millions of couriers attempting to pass on information throughout the web will be suddenly cut off and forced to desist--or face a considerable penalty.
Beyond the more basic issue of copyrighted images, the law stands to prevent individuals from uploading news clips belonging to cable networks, promising to undercut the spreading of information for analysis and debate whilst keeping reports exclusive to the mainstream media.
In short, the government is making certain that any free distribution of information for educational purposes is quashed once and for all in a move meant to eventually wipe out streaks of dissent throughout the country. Without the freedom to spread news on the internet, Americans lose their last means of communicating without being under constant government surveillance. Fused with the Patriot Act and the National Defense Authorization Act, the new law gives the government nearly untouched power to triangulate, isolate, and execute citizens who do not stand in line with its rules or decrees.
If Americans were ever to rebel, we would find ourselves outmaneuvered, outgunned, and overpowered within mere hours, as the government's power has gotten so great that it easily goes beyond the wildest dreams of anything endorsed by the Nazi-Marxist-Militarist axis.
And the sad truth is, most Americans will remain oblivious to the facts while the government endlessly consolidates its totalitarian control over their lives.
Comments