February 22, 1996 February 22, 1996
Dedicated to my father, born on February 22, 1919
I am sitting here beside my Mac, feeling the vibrations this "24 Hours of Democracy" stuff is evoking inside my soul, smoking a little bit (more), looking in my mailbox for statements that really counts and trying to express myself, my commitment to "The Net", in a foreign language. I love it. Yeah, it's true: We live in interesting times!
The Net isn't good. It isn't evil either. It's happening. It's growing. And Big Business is searching for ways to make money in this still anarchistic and non-profit environment. No problem, you will be able to navigate through the Web for days without any annoying advertisement - during a hyperlinked tour to a hundred thousand of personal Home Pages.
And that's what the net is really all about: Express yourself! Communicate! Look around and participate! Not neccesarily as a hyper-active member of the virtual society (like Dave). Just feel the fresh air of free speech, the common sense of Freedom and Democracy. The Net is Democracy alive. The only one that actually works.
If politicians or business men attempt to censor or take posession of the Internet (and they are doing so!) -- they will be frustrated. Too many individuals, too many countries, too many servers to control. No chance, guys ... ;->
Some folks in the 24 Hours mailing list (thanks to AOL) are worried about the "Media Coverage". Don't worry about that -- We are the Media! We are working inside an organism of thoughts, a global communication network going to be the core of the Information Age. That's it, and that's why we have to care about free speech and protecting it against reactionaries of all kind.
Be part of the virtual community fighting for something beyond the world of Bits and Bytes - get involved!
Get involved!
My parents wonder what's going on over there, in "The Net". 72 and 77 years old, they don't wanna get involved. They are scared. "People won't talk to each other any more", my mother said to me, "they are always looking into that damn screen." It's hard to make clear to them what the net is really about.
"Stupidity is the worst enemy of freedom."
"La stupidite est la plus grande ennemi de la liberté."
"Dummheit ist der schlimmste Feind der Freiheit."
Salman Rushdie