It's too late now. The switch has been thrown. The BIG switch. The enLIGHTenment has been turned ON. There's no turning back. Freedom is about to become THE global issue of our time.

History demonstrates that freedom owes its existence not only to political enlightenment, but to the application of science, technology, and the human will to resist oppression. So it is that the incredible revolution occurring in cyberspace is about to create a parallel revolution in the way we do virtually everything, and that includes politics --- and Freedom Party. The 'big switch' is the Internet and the Internet has been turned ON. It WILL affect your life --- even if you don't own a computer, and even if you don't have any idea of what I'm talking about.

Of course, this is just an analogy, and there really isn't a 'big switch' in the literal sense.

What really exists is a network of billions and billions of 'little switches' which, in turn, physically exist within millions and millions of home computers that come in every shape and size imaginable. These 'switches' are simply the binary electronic settings that create the images which appear on our video screens, or which generate the sounds that are heard through a set of speakers, or which execute pre-written instructions (called 'programs', not to be confused with the government kind) that make our computers perform specific tasks.

In an incredible demonstration of nature's simplicity, the combined effect of these switches working in unison around the globe can allow us to do things that appear miraculous, and lend to a false belief that its operation is far too complex for anyone's simple understanding. But not so...

If you can count to two, you are already able to understand the fundamental principle on which any electronic device operates, including the computer. Like the switch that turns your kitchen light on and off, a computer's electronic binary switches similarly have only two settings: on or off. What makes a computer 'powerful' is simply the number of these 'switches' that it has (the more the better) --- and the speed with which it can turn them on and off (the faster the better).

Imagine. It takes EIGHT of these 'little switches' (called 'bits') just to create a single letter of text (called a 'byte'). Yet, through the discovery of this simple binary switching principle, we have developed a technology capable of turning on and off millions upon millions of these switches on command. Voila! Pictures. Sights. Sounds.

Add to this the capability of sending the 'switch settings' in your computer to anyone else's computer in the world (or vice-versa), and you have the beginnings of a relationship. Communication. Interactivity. The miracle of the Internet.

When the Internet first entered the general public's consciousness just a few short years ago, there were many who dismissed it as another technological fad that would soon outlive its appeal or value. Though a few doubting Thomases still exist, their doubt is about to be set to rest. As more and more people buy computers and get on line --- many of whom could not even conceive of owning a computer just a few months ago! --- I can well understand why it is reported that over a million new people gain access to the Internet each and every week of the year.

Make no mistake. The Internet is as dramatic a development in our society as were the introductions of the telephone, radio, and television --- combined!

Thanks to the power of the Internet, anyone can now be a 'publisher' or 'broadcaster'. On the Internet, there are an unlimited number of 'broadcasting frequencies'. (In fact, you can literally tune in to live radio broadcasts from around the world, with perfect sound reproduction and no static.) On the Internet, everyone is accessible to anyone in the world who has a relatively inexpensive computer and who subscribes to a similarly inexpensive Internet service via a telephone line in their home or office --- all without long-distance charges of any kind.

While this is good news for most of us, the new application of technology will be threatening to certain elements of the status quo, particularly those who depend upon misinformation, ignorance, or coercion to justify their causes or positions.

Like governments.

Already, a new political frontier is emerging. But the key issue in this new frontier is an old one: freedom of speech. Governments and politicians eager to cut the flow of free information are already busily preparing the groundwork to establish a basis for censorship on the Internet, and as always, will start by using the "protection of children" argument to establish censorship --- for adults.

"An unsupervised teenager with a modem is a dangerous as an unsupervised teenager with a gun," is a quote attributed to Arizona Assistant State Attorney Gail Thackeray in the October 1996 issue of Yahoo magazine.

This is fear and irrationality talking. Fear, because even an unsupervised teenager WITH a gun should not be dangerous, if that teenager has been raised with even a minimum sense of responsibility and morality. Irrationality, because guns do not equate with a free exchange of ideas, and unsupervised teenagers should not be dangerous under any circumstances. Moreover, a lack of supervision indicates a lack of parenting, which is an issue that cannot be simply brushed aside by expecting government to provide the supervision that parents will not. To accept this argument is to become part of the problem, not the solution.

There's no place for censorship on the Internet, but there is a place for law and justice. As in the rest of society, consent must be a ruling principle.

But let us not forget that freedom of speech excludes --- without the necessity of censorship --- for example, the exploitation of children in the production of child pornography, since those under the age of 18 have not yet reached the age of consent. It also excludes fraudulent activity, since this generates false consent which thus amounts to theft.

Both of these issues should properly be dealt with through criminal law (which will require some international cooperation) since each involves a criminal act. Resorting to censorship betrays other motives and deflects our attention from the true nature of the crime. From a legal standpoint, it should not matter whether child pornography is "obscene" or not. What should matter is whether a crime has been committed through the direct violation of an individual's rights.

Nevertheless, these are the kinds of issues that will find themselves forced into the public arena. The Internet will make possible an awareness of individual freedom that will forever leave its mark on the global consciousness.

The empowerment of the people through this incredible technology cannot be taken away from them. No longer will individuals have to depend upon unreliable third parties for their information. No longer will they have to tolerate the censorship of their governments. The potential to become fully informed voters is virtually unlimited.

Now that Freedom Party's new Web site is on-line, active 24 hours a day and accessible to people anywhere on the face of the globe, the rules of political persuasion are rapidly changing.

It is incredible to think that, for the same cost of mailing this single issue of Freedom Flyer to our limited number of members and supporters in Ontario, we are now able to deliver --- direct into the homes of individuals anywhere in the world --- our entire political library, including every issue of Freedom Flyer, Consent, our issue papers, official submissions, speeches, photos, software programs, video and audio signals for six months, 24-hours-a-day!

We could not possibly have asked for a more ideal medium with which to market Freedom Party's philosophy and platform or to expose our ideas to the world. The power that this global presence places in our laps is awesome, and will have future effects that we can not possibly predict at this point in time.

Some of these advantages are already self-evident. No longer do we have to depend upon the popular media to create a public awareness of us --- or to tell our side of a particular story or issue. In fact, our relationship with the media itself is bound to undergo a dramatic change. Over time, it will become increasingly difficult for the media to dismiss us, with the knowledge that our Website can provide the public with information that they might otherwise misrepresent or ignore.

For example, had this medium exists just a few short years ago when Freedom Party came to the defence of (former) London landlord Elijah Elieff before an Ontario Human Rights Commission Board of Inquiry, the outcome of Mr. Elieff's tragic experience might have been quite different. Though we won the case before the Board, Mr. Elieff lost everything he owned as a consequence of the negative and false publicity generated by the London Free Press. Perhaps Mr. Elieff's situation may yet turn around, given that his whole story is now permanently accessible to the public and media on our Website at https://www.freedomparty.org/cheyenne.htm. Let us hope that others able to help in some way will contact us so that something more meaningful --- to Mr. Elieff --- can be accomplished.

Our ability to help others who have been direct victims of arbitrary government policy is just one possible advantage of our being on-line. Let's consider another, one closer to the goal of contributing to Freedom Party's growth and organization. If any of you have been thinking about getting involved with, or organizing for Freedom Party in your local ridings, consider the incredible resource already instantly available at your fingertips. With Fp's entire library a click away, you can hold discussion or recruiting meetings in the privacy of your own home and be able to answer any question about Freedom Party simply by going on-line and getting whatever information is required. This has tremendous possibilities, of which more will be said in future.

Though I have an obvious bias in this regard, I am quite confident in saying that Freedom Party's Website is the most comprehensive, content-packed political site that I know of anywhere in the world. Just compare our site to any other, and you'll know that I'm not just bragging, but stating a fact.

Freedom Party's Website strategy is aimed at providing anyone in the world with free access to a deeper understanding of a freedom philosophy, complete with a consistent standard, definition, and demonstration of what individual freedom is really all about, and the principles on which it is based. There is no value more profound or important to humanity than individual freedom --- many of our forefathers died for it --- and yet it continues to be under assault and chipped away by each successive legislative action of our many layered governments.

Knowledge is power, and the protection of individual freedom requires eternal vigilance. Freedom Party's Website is a powerful instrument in providing both the knowledge and the vigilance.

Visitors to our Website are greeted with the understanding that "for us, freedom is a universal concept that knows no border, no political label, and no political restriction on the right of all individuals to freely choose their own destinies. Freedom Party believes that the purpose of government is to protect individual freedom of choice, not to restrict it."

We invite our visitors to discover freedom at their own pace and leisure. We hope we've designed a Website that delights, educates, informs, and entertains. I hope you'll take the time and seize the opportunity to pay us a visit in cyberspace. Watch for our daily updates, our continually-added features, and for our incredible library of the ideas that can change the world.

Freedom. Yours to discover. For free!

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Page last updated on June 3, 2002