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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.
If you enjoyed this article, please use the buttons above to digg it and subscribe to The Jeremy West Column. Then enjoy my other articles below: Why I am a Voluntaryist (II): Government should not control radio, TV, the press or the Internet Did you like this article? ©2008 Jeremy West, all rights reserved. You must have written permission from the author in order to republish this work. The views expressed in this article are those of Jeremy West only and do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Jeremy West is solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist. Report violation by Jeremy West of Nolan Chart LLC's terms of use policy.
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