I can hardly believe the news that Congress has dropped SOPA and PIPA for now. I have a sneaky suspicion this won’t be the last we hear of them, but it is an amazing boost to know that we — everyone from mere peons like me to the Big Guns like Wikipedia — have performed our own version of “shock and awe” on Congress’s attempt to forever change the free medium of the Internet.
I feared a lot of things about this proposed law, but most appalling to me was how very much like the Chinese government’s control over the Internet this seemed to me. How much would we unknowingly have lost? How many news sources would have been blocked for not corresponding to the ‘proper’ attitudes, for running counter to the US legislative machine? I hope we’ll never know.
So, everyone, raise a glass and toast our success! Join me in thanking those who raised the alarm, who shouted the news from the rooftops so that the little guys like me could add our voices to the fray. And then, keep an eye out, an ear to the track. This ain’t over yet.
Everyday Magic | M. E. Garber 