Chris Bretl

The right to hold personal views, morals, and opinions has been a concern of American citizens since they first stepped aboard the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. We first set sail to this virgin land to escape the oppression of the British legislature. This country was founded on ideals of perfect tolerance and personal freedoms. These personal freedoms were not limited to what was deemed as morally acceptable by the majority. Some were along the line these ideals have seem to have been pushed along the wayside to make room for election year "family values" campaigns.

On February 8, 1996 President Clinton signed into law the federal Communications Decency Act of 1996. This law was designed to prohibit children (any one under 18 years age) from exposure to "indecent" material via the Internet. The Supreme Court widely ruled that the Communications Decency Act was in violation of the United States constitution. As in pay per view television and magazine subscriptions, Internet access is a service that is specifically purchased by the customer. This difference from radio and public television exclude the Internet from FCC regulation. Justice O'Connor found the act analogous to prohibiting a bookstore owner from selling pornographic magazines if a minor had ever entered his store.

As one might expect, legislature did not give up. On February 9, 1998, another attempt to lay the bony hand of regulation upon citizens was made. This time the target was painted on institutions of learning. Senator McCain proposed that schools and libraries receiving federal funding should be mandated to implement software to filter or block material that is not suitable for minors. If an institution is not in accordance with the bill, the face up to 50,000 dollars in fines and/or six months imprisonment.

This is one of many cases where regulations have been proposed without an understanding of the content or ramifications of it's institution. The type of software mentioned in the bill simply does not exist. The meager attempts at producing this type of software (i.e., Net Nanny, Cyber watch, etc.) have not worked. They are either based on key word searches, witch are inaccurate and often block up to 99% material perfectly suitable for minors, or specific site blocks witch are subject to manufacturer bias.

The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) wrote a letter to Senator Mcclain pleading with him to stop attempts to regulate the Internet. They argued that laws regarding child pornography and solicitation of minors provided enough protection, without additional Internet specific mandates. The letter went on to say that material presented in schools has always been a community decision via the school board, and that government intervention was not necessary.

Another victory over government regulation of free speech has come at the state level. A federal district judge blocked New York State from enforcing it's version of the Communications Decency Act. In analogy to a 1945 supreme court ruling banning the enforcement of a state law prohibiting rail way cars from exceeding 14 in length. New York has posed mandates from within it's state lines that affects those outside of it's legal jurisdiction. In fact, 40 percent of the material on the Internet comes from sources outside of the country.

American citizens are living under mass delusion. The belief that America is a free country may be the biggest misconception in history. It is considered common knowledge that American citizens live in freedom and under protection of basic personal rights. The fact of the matter is that often times the United States' judicial system resembles a majority rule police state. In order for citizens to be completely free, there has to be complete tolerance. In our society, at present, you are granted the right to express your views feelings and suggestions if they fall within the majority rule guidelines of decent. As long as you are not directly infringing on the rights of another individual you should be allowed to practice and preach whatever you feel is appropriate.