An Abstract Problem
This review (link) illustrates, to me, the problem when it comes to artistic expression and free speech in a supposedly democratic society. Amit Asaravala reviews Brand Name Bullies, by David Bollier, a book illustrating example after example of large corporations intimidating private citizens exercising free speech into submission or bankruptcy and ends up saying, basically, that he still doesn't understand what the fucking problem is here. Now, this guy WRITES for a living, for Wired News, a high tech, progressive publication.
Does anyone see a problem here?
We've got boys and girls dying every day in Iraq, fighting for our freedom. What freedom? Freedom of expression was the first and most important freedom this country was based on. Why is is so hard to get through to the public at large that these copyright bullies are chipping away at what we can say and do...what the law calls "a chilling effect"?
This affects all of us, every day. We all have voices. We all have a right to hear the voices of others. We all want to be able to build a business, express ourselves or create a piece of art in peace, or at least be able to enjoy that produced by others We have a right to share ideas, art, music, build on it, use it to create our own expression. Can't people see how much less we will be without those things? Why are we willing to sell ourselves out this way?
A society without a strong artistic voice is a powerless, superficial society, just like the one Green Day sang about. We are crippling our artists and ourselves with these burdens and restrictions. We end up with a diligent but deadened populace and an artistic community reduced to the .1% of those brave enough to deal with an organized and armed enemy.
It's about time someone with a voice expresses this in a way the public will understand and stop hiding behind case law, and legalese. We need someone to advocate for the artistic voice and what it means to our culture. We need someone to point out that having our government infringing our Constitutional rights is unacceptable, and doing it while standing in the shadow of big business is not fooling anyone.
BTW, a much better book on this subject, that avoids the pitfalls described by Asaravala, is Freedom of Expression by Kembrew McLeod. It's available online, under a CC, and is written very clearly.
Does anyone see a problem here?
We've got boys and girls dying every day in Iraq, fighting for our freedom. What freedom? Freedom of expression was the first and most important freedom this country was based on. Why is is so hard to get through to the public at large that these copyright bullies are chipping away at what we can say and do...what the law calls "a chilling effect"?
This affects all of us, every day. We all have voices. We all have a right to hear the voices of others. We all want to be able to build a business, express ourselves or create a piece of art in peace, or at least be able to enjoy that produced by others We have a right to share ideas, art, music, build on it, use it to create our own expression. Can't people see how much less we will be without those things? Why are we willing to sell ourselves out this way?
A society without a strong artistic voice is a powerless, superficial society, just like the one Green Day sang about. We are crippling our artists and ourselves with these burdens and restrictions. We end up with a diligent but deadened populace and an artistic community reduced to the .1% of those brave enough to deal with an organized and armed enemy.
It's about time someone with a voice expresses this in a way the public will understand and stop hiding behind case law, and legalese. We need someone to advocate for the artistic voice and what it means to our culture. We need someone to point out that having our government infringing our Constitutional rights is unacceptable, and doing it while standing in the shadow of big business is not fooling anyone.
BTW, a much better book on this subject, that avoids the pitfalls described by Asaravala, is Freedom of Expression by Kembrew McLeod. It's available online, under a CC, and is written very clearly.
posted by Intervision at 4:31 AM
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