The Dawn of the Information Age

A collaboration with the infamous Riley K. Jones

"In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes" ~ Andy Warhol (1968)

This was said a full 25 years before the first web browser, Mosaic,  was even introduced.  The invention of the internet allowed people to instantly connect to others all over the world and find any of the information that they desired at the touch of a few buttons.  Thus began the dawn of the information age.  The introduction of the Internet brought with it a whole new type of communication, research, and, as humans always tend to realize when they play with a new toy long enough, warfare. One fought with ones and zeros instead of guns and steel.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Security Agency (NSA) are two organizations that deal in the monitoring and security of information stored and shared on the internet.  Following the rise of technology and its more malevolent users, the responsibilities of the two organizations changed to more loosely define the freedoms we have as a result of the Bill of Rights.  Government presence on the web changed whether rights such as freedom of speech and petition would be transferred and protected in the digital state as well as the physical state.

This presence also defined forever the way that our freedoms and responsibilities as citizens of the United States are viewed by the government.  The freedom to speak freely, to an outlet that allows a larger, more receptive audience than your average soapbox, is not as protected on the internet.  That reason being our very own United States government.  We now have more of a responsibility to choose our words carefully in every text message, comment, email, and blog post so that we aren’t arrested for plotting another dismemberment. (How much do you really enjoy your left arm, Mr. N?)

The government did not leave us to test these recently acquired freedoms and responsibilities before they made the choice to limit them for us.  What does this say about the government of the united states and their trust of the people as a whole?  It is, of course, up to you to decide.  But if you’re going to post a more...negative response, I wouldn’t make it too strongly worded.