Free Speech?

Something very interesting just came to my attention regarding the use of the internet as a method of communication. As you may know, thousands of people have been protesting in Myanmar for democracy. It appears that the Government of Myanmar has determined that the internet has been instrumental in facilitating free speech and is fueling the fire of democracy. The Government of Myanmar has subsequently interrupted the access of the internet by the citizens in an attempt to stop the protests.

It appears to me that there are similarities between what is going on in Myanmar right now and what is going on right here in the U.S. on both local and national levels, albeit in lesser degrees. While no one is being shot in the street by the govt. here in the U.S., the attempts to quiet unfettered free speech in both locations are obvious.

People in Myanmar are trying to OBTAIN democracy and free speech.
People in the U.S. are trying to RETAIN democracy and free speech.

The govt. in Myanmar is actively trying to stop the people from having a democracy and free speech.
Many members of local and federal govt. here in the U.S. are actively trying to reduce our rights to free speech which, among other things, equate to our democracy.

The govt. of Myanmar is using it's military as a tool to suppress free speech and democracy.
Members of our govt. are using the courts and legislature in attempts suppress free speech and democracy.

Govt. in both nations have recognized that free communication between the people is detrimental to the idea that the govenment should function without regard to the will of the people. In both nations the internet has been identified as an effective method by which the people communicate the voice of democracy. In our nation, members of local govt. have initiated lawsuits against you in attempts to stop your challenge of thier decisions and the methods they use to govern. On a national level, certain members of congress are actively seeking to implement legislation known as the "Fairness Doctrine" which gives the government control of the content of the speech on radio stations, another form of media which is used here to promote our political views. This follows the failure of the passage of an "Amnesty Bill" due almost entirely to collaborative efforts by "We, the People" who united via talk radio and blogs to present our resounding will.

I promise you - the writing is on the wall. A time is coming very soon when we will see members of our govt. attempting to enact legislation that control or limit communication on the internet, especially the blogs. It will come quietly and will likely be hidden in the pages of an entirely unrelated law in an attempt to fly in under the radar - but it is coming.

Think about this. Communication is the vehicle used to unite people. Two of the methods used most widely by people in our country are talk radio and the weblogs (blogs). Attempts are already underway to control radio.
1) There is one step between the govt. of Myanmar and the suppression of free speech (communication) of its people - Force.
2) There are two steps between the U.S. Govt. and the suppression of free speech of it's people - Legislation (which almost always authorizes the use of force to ultimately ensure compliance) and Force.

In order to prevent our democracy from slipping away any further than it already has, we must all be diligent and speak out against any legislation that erodes our right to free speech in ANY form. We must challenge ANY effort that threatens to divide us as a people. If we don't, we will have been permanently divided as a people and the remainder our constitutional rights will have been effectively revoked .