echoes of the ego

Stoney G deGeyter

Since Google has agreed to censor their search results in order to
enter the Chinese market, much hoopla has been made about American
corporations and their responsibility to human rights. Is it right for
American companies to acquiesce to foreign governments who have a
history of human rights abuses, just to enter their markets and gain a
profit? Is it okay to cave to the demands of another country’s
government but not to the less restrictive demands of your own? Do
companies have an obligation to ensure that all of their customers,
regardless of nationality, are treated the same. These are all
questions that I have no intention of answering in this article.
Rather, I would like to offer my discourse on a most basic human right
that too many in this country are currently being denied: free
high-speed internet access.

Millions of individuals in every corner of this great nation simply do
not have free access to high (or even low!) -speed internet. These are
our neighbors, living in a hidden and repressed society, unable to gain
access to the most fundamental basics for a happy existence:

[*]shopping for their $120 Nike’s online
[*]downloading $0.99 songs or $1.99 TV shows to their iPods
[*]accessing online porn
[*]contributing to their favorite candidates political campaign
[*]creating a website for their dogs and cats
[*]blogging about how much they love Britney Spears
[*]ordering their sandwiches online

The list goes on.

When will this abuse end? When will our government step in and restore
the freedoms all Americans deserve? The good news is that this Iron
Curtain barring free high-speed internet access is beginning to
crumble. The city of San Francisco has recently announced that it will
begin providing
” affordable
wireless broadband” to city residents. Don’t be discouraged by the
word “Affordable”. San Fran’s Department of Telecommunications and
Information Services’ (DTIS) Executive Director, Chris Vein, means this:

“San Francisco has undertaken
a thorough, innovative, and transparent process to reach an audacious
goal: free wifi for our residents.”

My understanding is that SF explored the idea of offering free dial-up
access, but felt that as a human rights issue, this was equivalent to
letting women vote, but not actually letting their votes count.
Providing slow-speed internet access is nothing more than pouring lemon
juice on the wounds of the oppressed masses.

There is a dark side to this announcement; “Big Business” will actually
receive money in order to make this service available. But the gains
far outweigh such negatives. All other “Big Business” and possibly even
some small business will find themselves unable to compete against the
deep pocket, government monopoly offering a service for free. These
companies will be shut out and many will even have to close down or
leave the SF area in favor of cities that continue to abuse citizens.

In addition to driving greedy businesses under, another bonus is that
these services will ultimately be paid with government money, provided
by the same taxpayers who will receive this “free” service. This
simplifies the process of paying bills each month, as taxes are already
taken out from your paycheck (if you get one) or added at the cash
register when you buy your food and household supplies. No more having
to write a check to an ISP, licking envelopes or digging around for a
postage stamp.

With the relief this free high-speed internet access provides to the
abused, it won’t be long before other abusive “Iron Curtains” begin to
tumble. Do we really need a separate company to provide our heat and
electricity? Should Safeway, Raley’s, Albertson’s, and Super-Wal-Mart
be allowed to control how much food we can bring home to our families,
based on some arbitrary monetary units made available to us? Do Target,
Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Ikea and Sears have a right to demand separate
payments for the clothing, furnishings and home improvement tools we
require to live? Should Taco Bell really have a right to deny me access
to free and unlimited food?

I say NO! It’s time for the oppressed rabble of nameless masses to rise
up and demand more from out government. It’s time to put a stop to the
abuses suffered daily by those that must pay or go without internet
access. It’s time to make this country free again! God bless San
Francisco for standing up for what is right, telling the world they
will, “tear down these walls” that have kept us in bondage for far too
many years.