Birthday in a Warzone
It's my birthday today. 8 years it's been.
Friends and family are with me to celebrate. We talk about our humble beginnings, our battles, our victories and our losses. But despite a profound sense of nostalgia, the mood gets heavy, because we know that these are dark times, and the future is uncertain.
Some of the attendees are young, and don't remember the past, so when someone asks, I decide to tell the story:
"Some years before I was born, our mother - the internet - had been dealt a violent blow, they called it the DMCA. Many attacks were launched with this, against friends, family and later myself as well, but these attacks were not perceived to be too much of an issue, because even though it meant that things could be taken from us, it didn't allow for much else.
Our father - liberty - had likewise been hit like never before, they called it the USA PATRIOT Act, he told us later that he wept for days when it became a reality, but we didn't understand what it really meant. He explained that with the PATRIOT Act, privacy ended. Any information anywhere could be taken.
A couple of years after these events, I was born; I came into existence with the goal of freeing information, making tools available to those who wanted them. The first information that I spread was (naturally) tools to spread information, but soon tools of all kinds started spreading rapidly, enabling many people to do what would before have been impossible to even imagine.
Unfortunately, what for us was an amazing growth was by others perceived to be an existential threat. The same entities that created the DMCA decided that the free spreading of information, through the information spreading tools, had to stop. Their efforts would ultimately result in what we now remember as MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. this spelled the end for almost all of the best known information spreading tools. Despite this loss though, we quickly recovered and moved on to newer and better tools of spreading information. It seemed that their efforts to stop us were insufficient.
Some years of relative calm followed and now we move into recent history. Their next weapon became known as PRO-IP Act. Mother explained that while the DMCA allowed for items to be taken from us, PRO-IP would allow them to kidnap us, and put people in jail if we broke their rules.
Soon after, we heard stories of friends being hit. But at this point in time, we were far away from the battlefield, and so the losses no longer felt so personal.
There was another loss though, which was more personal than anything; our father went into a coma last month after the NDAA was passed. Before we lost him, he explained to us that the NDAA was the end of the rule of law, and that now, finally, they could do anything to any person, and it would be legal.
And now we arrive at the present; yesterday, more friends were lost, and the powers showed us how arrogant they are by taking them out without referring to real crime, and executing it with an extremely excessive show of force."
I pause and look out the window, then continue: "Indeed, there are dark clouds gathering, but, we shouldn't forget that our mother is not lost yet, and there are many people - even ordinary people - now ready and willing to stand up for her, and this is clearly evidenced by the massive joined resistance against SOPA and PIPA. There are hoards of supporters now in the digital streets, saying enough is enough, and making it clear that we will not accept more censorship and restrictions.
So, as we enjoy the cake, let us hope and pray that people stay vigilant, get informed and then maybe - some day we will be able to get back liberty as well."
Finally I saw some optimism among the guests, and, breaking away from the story, I hope, this short story introduced some into you, the reader, as well.
Thank you for 8 wonderful years, and may we have many more.