'Citizenship' not Censorship

ronfar writes "The Latest Senatorial Attack on American Freedom. I'm not sure why I care anymore, except that my freedoms are going down the drain along with everybody elses. I mean, it's pretty obvious that the Leibermans, Gores, Bennets and Bauers of the world feel secure in forcefully turning this country into an authoritarian state. The sad thing is that when people finally realize how much they've lost, they will no longer have the power to do anything about it. Our democracy is committing suicide, I just wish someone would intervene and take the razor away before it slits its wrists. "

Comments

I don't see a problem ...

[seth]

Okay, from what I skimmed, this law says that people must properly label their products so that parents, school, etc can make proper and informed decisions.

What is wrong with that?

If I were a parent, I would want to know if a product contained what I judge as inappropriate content for my children to view.

That isn't a limiting of freedom, that is informing the consumer.

Or do you think that a manufacturer has a right to lie to consumers.

Maybe this is overlegislated, but it doesn't sound like an evil removal of freedom.

Or am I missing something?

Re:I don't see a problem ...

[Analog]

You forgot the only alternative that will actually work. That is, for parents to keep track of what their kids are watching/doing, and (what most people seem to miss) communicate with them about it.

I frequently hear the excuse that "I don't have time to check everything my kids see". If that's true, it's a good sign that your kids are watching too much tv, spending too much time with video games, etc. Like it or not, being a parent carries with it a huge amount of responsibility - if you don't want it, don't have kids!

I for one am getting pretty damn tired of the government telling me they know better than I do what my children can and can't see, and even more tired of people saying "that's ok" because it lets them shrug off the responsibilities they took on when they became parents.

More & Better Labeling!

[Evan Vetere]

As a teenager, I want better labeling of content so I can tell at a glance while scanning DirecTV's film listings which shows contain nudity, which contain wanton violence, and which are just pansy-ass dramas. With proper and thorough labeling, I can zero in on the shows that have the naughty bits, and not waste my time on other, less entertaining programming.

Bring on the new system!

"true Xians"

[MenTaLguY]

Stalin was a priest. You forgot Hitler -- Hitler and the Nazis followed an Aryan-Christian-Mythology; not atheists. Of course, people like you will say "they weren't true Christians" or some shit like that

I dunno, that might make sense, considering that faithful Christians were among the people they explicitly targeted for extermination, as they wouldn't cooperate with the regime.

As for the crusades, yes, those were just an unmitigated mess. Those and the Inquisition are very good examples of why Theocracy is bad -- not just from a political standpoint, but also from a religious standpoint. It corrupts both the state and the religion.

We can argue about whether or not the people involved were "true christians" without any sort of satisfactory resolution, but if you can call them Christians, they certainly were ignoring some rather important moral principles of their faith.

Berlin-- http://www.berlin-consortium.org

Re:Think about this ...

[Fastolfe]

Wow, I really thought your post was rather rational and clearly written, right up until that last word.

The day that the slashdot kiddies figure out that they can make a valid point without resorting to name-calling will be a pleasant day indeed.