I wonder if we should credit ourselves and our ideals of fighting for justice or Wikipedia’s restrictions this past week more for causing SOPA and PIPA’s reconsiderations across America’s legislature. It’s one thing that politcians are meant to cater to the common view’s interests, but is everyone as sincere in their oppostion or approval of such acts like these and the countless others we’re aware of in our lifetimes?
Or is it the widespread influence we’re exposed to, that may lead many to just “do”, without thorough research and contemplation. Those who simply follow what everyone else is thinking and only get involved when it’s cool or because a restriction is set on something that’s so heavily relied on.
Even at one point this past Wednesday, I had forgotten that Wikipedia was down and went to look something up on it, to be geniunely surprised that I could’t. Mind you, this was after I had gone out of my way to see what the message on the dark Wikipedia looked like a few hours earlier. I don’t know if that speaks more of my forgetfulness or of my expectations that Google, Wikipedia, Facebook and the other leading powers on the web are always going to be at my finger tips.
Of course it’s ironic, because that’s the message that Wikipedia was trying to push, that we can be censored with such ease if SOPA and PIPA were to be passed. But nonetheless, I think it still speaks more of my expectations, not for my ideals for the world and its future, but for my own ease and pleasure.
Really, though, it must be highlighted that this past Wednesday, January 18th 2012, was an incredible success. To be blunt, SOPA is dead, or at least it’s going to be changed– hopefully for the better. To fix the problem of online piracy and intellectual theft, but not at the cost of shutting us down infinitely. I support that, as we all should, but am concerned that it took a restriction on numerous sites to get the world to do something about it.
Imagine what other serious but unnoticed movements or laws we could make a difference on in one day, as we just did, if we were willing to pay a little more attention beforehand, and not have to be at mercy in order to do so.
