LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: michaels@packet.obtero.com.au
  To  : linuxsa@linuxsa.org.au
  Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 08:52:59 +0930 (CST)

Re: Australian Censorship

On Sat, 4 Sep 1999, Timothy Aslat wrote:
<snip> 
> Although this is all true, there's one little thing we all seem to have
> overlooked.  Australia is pretty much an Apathetic society, basically we
> separate ourselves from our elected governemt and let them run things to
> suit themselves.  Now that the government has a "foot in the door" so to
> speak, they will try and probably succeed to change whatever they feel
> like and claim that it's for "the common good".  I seem to recall Hitler
> said the same thing....

I think the political apathy comes from compulsory voting - perhaps you
_have_ to vote, but you don't have to know/care much about what it is
you must vote for.  
 
> More specifically, The only reason the Americans haven't had this kind
> of censorship or political "bossing around" is because they actually get
> out and do something about it.  Lobby groups and action groups seem to
> be able to bring enough pressure on their government that any attempt to
> change anything which prohibits free speech, thinking, actions is
> immediately stomped on.

As a recently expatriated American, I'll say the following...

<rant>
The only reason the Americans haven't had this sort of thing happen is
because the interested opposition lobbies have money.  Ask 100 Americans
what they think about censorship, and they'll rant and rave about its
evils.  Then when it comes time to vote, maybe 20 will bother to vote.  
Lobbyists, politicians, favours and cash run the place, not the 20% of
registered voters.  Every year there are 'rider' bills of some sort
attached to some huge amount of money someone else wants, to censor this
or that, or to legislate another right away.  In the past few years, those
bills have been passed more often than not (it's hard to not pass a bill
when the money is attached to, say, 'education' if you don't want to be
labeled as a 'child hater'). After they're passed, if you want the
rider overturned (for example, the Communications Decency Act), you have
to challenge it on Constitutional grounds (constitutional law attorneys
are damn expensive).
</rant>

Call me one who likes to dispell myths about American politics and
society :)  I was involved in state level politics, and have seen
the mess from the inside.
 
> Australia doesn't have anything like this in place, and even if we do,
> it certainly isn't standing up to be counted.  We all like to complain
> about the governement and practically anything else but I haven't seen a
> lot of people actually doing it.
> 
> There's an old saying, "ignorance is bliss" my guess would be that the
> government is trying to make us blissful so we stay out of whatever it
> is they want to do.

Sad but true.  'Net censorship aside, I'd have to say the grass
in greener down here.

Michael

> as per usual, this is just my $0.02 (+ GST)
> 
> Tim
> 
> 
> -- 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> Timothy Aslat			
> Technical Administrator		
> Oztek Online PTY LTD		
> Email:  tim@oztek.net.au
> Phone: +61 8 83634950
> Mobile: +61 416 113 610
> 
> Sleep is a poor substitute for caffeine.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> -- 
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