I noticed an interesting phenomenon on my Facebook page today: Many of my friends were expressing displeasure with the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) that Congress will be voting on in the near future. What was so interesting about this occurrence is that these friends span the gamut of political beliefs, including conservative Republicans, Libertarians, independent Moderates, and liberal Democrats. Based on my friends' comments, it appears that the overriding concern is that these bills, if passed, will ultimately restrict our right to free speech on the internet. I began trying to figure out why such an issue could unite people of such disparate political leanings. I even scanned some information on the Pew Research website that discusses the political typology of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans, hoping to find some common philosophy between these groups that might explain this refreshing alignment of the stars. Alas, my search was futile...
However, after much thought, I think I might have an answer: Because the overwhelming majority of Americans like to communicate without government restraint, it is likely that more people of varying political beliefs will unite against legislation that threatens to infringe on this right than on any other Constitutional freedom. For example, not everyone cares about guns or is affiliated with a spiritual faith, therefore, there are likely more Americans concerned about the right to express their thoughts and ideas freely than concerned about the constitutional rights to bear arms or the freedom of religion. This occurrence has reminded me that, in the end, we are all Americans and that, yes, it is possible for those who often disagree to occasionally stumble upon common ground. After all, we are on this "Crazy Train" together, so it behooves us to discover as much of that common ground as possible. Oops, I think that "Crazy Train" comment may be a violation of copyright law. If my blog suddenly goes dark in a few weeks, you will know what happened to it. ;)
