This is Why I Care About Freedom
It’s just one of a million examples, but the latest efforts by China’s government to control the flow of information from personal websites and blogs demonstrates exactly why I worry so much about the degradation of our freedoms in this country. Those who say “these things never happen” need only look to China to see how a government manages to suppress access to information and actively monitor what is posted on personal websites and blogs. Sixty people are in jail for posting their opinions, which were contradictory to their government’s, on their websites. Access to foreign websites is very limited. Large businesses routinely modify their business styles in order to access the Chinese market.
That woman in Chelsea, MA who doesn’t mind being watched by cameras in public because she’s “not a criminal” would do well to take heed of the way China handles it’s people. If we continue to allow ourselves to be controlled, we may very well end up being told what to read, what is correct to think and where we’re allowed to go. It’s not only in fiction, kids, it’s happening in real countries right now.
