A Day of Silence, or....

[AntiFascist]

Save internet radio, save the World!

If you go to the website www.di.fm and click to listen to any of the selectable radio channels today, June 26th, 2007, you will only hear a haunting theme reminiscient of Orwell's 1984, or perhaps the sound of a world where the philosophy of Ayn Rand reigns supreme. The issue is that of internet music copyright royalty fees recently being raised so high that it will put most independent internet radio stations out of business. Internet radio stations are having this "day of silence" to prompt American listeners to contact their congressmen to do something about the royalty rates. ( www.SaveNetRadio.org )

While listening to this haunting theme, playing over and over, I had the idea: why not have a general day of silence? A day where everyone stays home and takes the day off... essentially a day of silent protest, reminding the powers that be that it is "we the people" who ultimately make the world turn, not war mongering politicians, not corporate greed...not an energy policy which sacrifices human life and destroys the earth's environment.

For the citizens of the United States it can be a day to proudly reaffirm our Constitution and take back the rule of law. For the citizens of the World, a day to stand up to the global powers fostering WAR. A day to silently remember the thousands of soldiers lost in Iraq, or the hundreds of thousands of civilians whose lives have been sacrificed.

Copyright royalty rates may not be the most pressing issue for the politically active community at DU, but imagine where this might lead? Silencing internet radio stations may be just the first step in policy changes affecting freedom of speech on the internet. Suppose economic or bandwidth barriers were placed on websites such as Democratic Underground?

Regardless of how you feel about internet radio, a general "day of silence" would be a most effective way of protesting changes overtaking our lives.


"Imagine a world with no sound, no wind, no birds, no music......silence may become reality"

[AntiFascist]

1. oh no, a thread of silence n/t