SOPA/PIPA Blackout
Just to be clear, this is not a political stand against evil, greedy corporations bent on making a profit. Profit is not a four-letter word. I’m very heavily invested in the idea of entrepreneurship. That’s why I publish a web site.
Instead, for my part, this is a principled stand against a flawed piece of legislation that really does nothing to prevent online piracy beyond the effectiveness of existing law. The SOPA/PIPA legislation would only serve to disrupt what has always been an open forum for information.
Yes, there are copyright infringements all over the Internet. And those who are a willing party to piracy should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. And on some days, I may even question the legality of sharing videos of your kid singing a copyrighted song or some other such video. Really, though, this isn’t even about that.
SOPA/PIPA would put power in the wrong hands. I’ve kept my politics off of this site, for a very specific reason: people of all political stripes can enjoy science fiction. And I can get along with people who don’t agree with me on several issues. But I will admit, I’m not a big fan of big government. I don’t believe in the Nanny State. I believe Big Government is the No-Win Scenario in which everyone loses.
I believe that people should act responsibly when posting material to the web, and that the government has a role in regulating how that process takes place. But there is this other part of me that thinks it’s very possible for the federal government (especially this administration) to over-reach.
No. The legislation should be better. It can be better.
Piracy is a constant issue that needs to be effectively dealt with with vigilance and determination. But no matter what legislation is in place, there will always be pirates. That’s why it’s so important that we don’t take away the law-abiding citizen’s ability to participate in the global community. We’ll always have bad apples. But you don’t get rid of the bad apples by squeezing the whole barrel into applesauce.
So on January 18th, SciFi4Me.com will participate in the Blackout.
