EPTSenator Carper,
With the SOPA/PIPA votes just around the corner, I am sure you have many of these messages to read, and perhaps some you need to respond to, so I will try to be brief.
There is a scourge upon the internet, which goes by the name piracy. These so-called pirates have formed a faction, and they do what they want, when they want. This is surely a problem which must be solved. But as is, I do not believe that SOPA or PIPA amount to appropriate answers.
On Thursday, the 22nd of November, 1787, a wiser man than us had his paper, "The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection (continued)" published, which is typically referred to as "The Federalist No. 10" today. In this paper, James Madison, a founding father, and one of the biggest names behind the Constitution of the United States of America said:
"There are two methods of curing the mischiefs of faction: the one, by removing its causes; the other, by controlling its effects.
There are again two methods of removing the causes of faction: the one, by destroying the liberty which is essential to its existence; the other, by giving to every citizen the same opinions, the same passions, and the same interests.
It could never be more truly said than of the first remedy, that it was worse than the disease. Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be less folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life, because it nourishes faction, than it would be to wish the annihilation of air, which is essential to animal life, because it imparts to fire its destructive agency."
Senator Carper, I implore you, when the time comes for you to make a decision, remember these words: it is better to have piracy than oppression. We are the United States of America, we have some of the most brilliant minds in all the world within our borders. Surely, some man or woman, some elder or child, someone, somewhere, has a better, more valid option.
This faction is a minority faction. They will be rooted out in time. That is, after all, how democracy and capitalism work, and it is one of the reasons these two systems blend together so well.
This shortcut to a good solution will only hurt the majority of people. There has been a never-ending stream of professionals and experts who have claimed this to be true. Most oppose this bill, and it is indeed most likely true that once the majority understands completely what this bill will mean for Americans, none will stand beside it. That is, of course, with the exception of the multibillion dollar corporations supporting the bill.
So I must ask, Senator, will you be on the side of liberty? Will you stand triumphantly with the vox populi and deny the abolition of our "air", as Madison compared it to? Or will you vote in favor of the largest bank account, which seeks to further its own interests at the expense of the interests of an uncountable number of others?
Again, this is a true problem, which needs a true solution. But the solution cannot be to simply steamroll -- for lack of a better term -- every other company and industry which relies on the internet. The answer isn't to give up personal and political liberties in the name of preventing crimes. What the answer is, however, only time will tell.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Jesse John Spillane,
Soon to be first time voter.
With the SOPA/PIPA votes just around the corner, I am sure you have many of these messages to read, and perhaps some you need to respond to, so I will try to be brief.
There is a scourge upon the internet, which goes by the name piracy. These so-called pirates have formed a faction, and they do what they want, when they want. This is surely a problem which must be solved. But as is, I do not believe that SOPA or PIPA amount to appropriate answers.
On Thursday, the 22nd of November, 1787, a wiser man than us had his paper, "The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection (continued)" published, which is typically referred to as "The Federalist No. 10" today. In this paper, James Madison, a founding father, and one of the biggest names behind the Constitution of the United States of America said:
"There are two methods of curing the mischiefs of faction: the one, by removing its causes; the other, by controlling its effects.
There are again two methods of removing the causes of faction: the one, by destroying the liberty which is essential to its existence; the other, by giving to every citizen the same opinions, the same passions, and the same interests.
It could never be more truly said than of the first remedy, that it was worse than the disease. Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be less folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life, because it nourishes faction, than it would be to wish the annihilation of air, which is essential to animal life, because it imparts to fire its destructive agency."
Senator Carper, I implore you, when the time comes for you to make a decision, remember these words: it is better to have piracy than oppression. We are the United States of America, we have some of the most brilliant minds in all the world within our borders. Surely, some man or woman, some elder or child, someone, somewhere, has a better, more valid option.
This faction is a minority faction. They will be rooted out in time. That is, after all, how democracy and capitalism work, and it is one of the reasons these two systems blend together so well.
This shortcut to a good solution will only hurt the majority of people. There has been a never-ending stream of professionals and experts who have claimed this to be true. Most oppose this bill, and it is indeed most likely true that once the majority understands completely what this bill will mean for Americans, none will stand beside it. That is, of course, with the exception of the multibillion dollar corporations supporting the bill.
So I must ask, Senator, will you be on the side of liberty? Will you stand triumphantly with the vox populi and deny the abolition of our "air", as Madison compared it to? Or will you vote in favor of the largest bank account, which seeks to further its own interests at the expense of the interests of an uncountable number of others?
Again, this is a true problem, which needs a true solution. But the solution cannot be to simply steamroll -- for lack of a better term -- every other company and industry which relies on the internet. The answer isn't to give up personal and political liberties in the name of preventing crimes. What the answer is, however, only time will tell.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Jesse John Spillane,
Soon to be first time voter.
