Do I believe that everyone has a right to blazing-fast internet service? Not exactly. I don’t think I would put “internet” in the same category as “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” As dependent as many of us are on the internet, I think I have to stop short of calling it a basic human necessity.
But what the issue of Net Neutrality brings to the fore is this:
We can’t have a healthy democracy if our government of the people, by the people, and for the people is influenced more by wealth than by equality.
Net Neutrality and Democracy are intertwined.
Last week’s video was helpful, but somehow this one by the New York Times got me thinking beyond the economic fears. This makes me feel like our very democracy is at stake:
To me, the beauty of living in a democratic society is that the strong help the weak—and in doing so we all become stronger. The rich help the poor—and in doing so we all are blessed in more than material ways. Everyone contributes something, and the resulting culture is one where science and art and music and commerce thrive—because we’re not fighting wars, or setting up regulations, or looking for loopholes. We’re free to do work that really matters.
Idealistic?
What do you think? Is this too much to ask? Am I too idealistic about democracy?