Why I am a Voluntaryist (II): Government should not control radio, TV, the press or the Internet
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. --1st amendment to the U.S. Constitution by Jeremy West
(libertarian)
Saturday, August 23, 2008
This series of articles explains why I agree with all ten statements from the 90s version of "The World's Smallest Political Quiz" from the advocates.org. I chose to use the old version rather than the current version because the current version has been revised to be inclusive of believers in small government while I want to show the reasons for an entirely voluntary society.
Why I am a Voluntaryist (II): Government should not control radio, TV, the press or the Internet
For those of you who are constitutionalists, I'll begin by quoting the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution:
"
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
"
I am not a constitutionalist. To me the constitution is just words on paper. But any government claiming to govern a society under "the rule of law" ought to follow its own laws oughtn't it?
Now, why do I personally believe government should not control radio, TV, the press or the Internet? Simple. I honor my neighbors' choices and I expect my neighbors to honor my choices.
I often turn on the radio or television only to find content wholly objectionable to me coming across the airwaves. (More often than not when this happens it is the news I have turned on and what I can't stand is the pro-government, pro-socialism slant which comes out in nearly every sentence. Other times it is simply bad "reality tv".) Sometimes I try to keep an open mind and listen to or watch something which is not targeted at me. But when the content becomes too objectionable I exercise my right to either change the channel or turn the garbage off altogether.
"But what about the children?" they cry. What about them? "Teach them well and let them lead the way". That's right, when your children are too young to understand when to exercise their right to turn the garbage off, you ought to be there to help. But as early as possible in life you ought to be teaching them that while everyone is free to say whatever they like, everyone is also free to decide for themselves what is valuable to listen to. If you can't guide your individual child, then how in the world do you expect some monolithic government to guide thousands and thousands of children? And how dare you impose what you don't want to hear on my child and me?
More importantly, governments that control the press control everything. Look to China or North Korea for examples of what George Orwell predicted would come to be in 1984. Perhaps in the case of western governments his predictions were just a few decades early.
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