Freedom is a commodity

Over the holiday weekend, I got to thinking about Freedom. We place a high value on freedom in the United States. Our Constitution explicitly guarantees us Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Assembley, and the Freedom to petition the government for redress of wrongs. It also guarantees freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, that we are innocent until proven guilty, that we have a right to privacy, a right to a trial by a jury in a speedy and public trial, and freedom from cruel and unusual punishment.

The people speak out (and rightfully so) when the government tries to abrogate those freedoms arbitrarily. So why is it that when corporations or private organizations (RIAA, BSA, MPAA, DMA, etc) pay for legislation that abrogates those rights for their benefits the masses hold their tongues? Could it possibly be related to the fact that mainstream media is on the side of these organizations and corporations? That may have something to do with it. I am truly confounded as to why it is a horrendous violation of our rights and freedoms when the government wants to restrict our right to privacy, our right to our personal property, yet when corporations or their representatives want to do those and far worse it is presented in the media as "in the best interests of consumers" and "for the benefit of the consumers".

I am not a consumer, I am a citizen of the United States of America, and I have rights which corporations do NOT have the right to restrict. I don't care how much legislation they've paid for, nor do I care how much soft money they've donated. A corporation should not have more rights than an individual. A corporation should not be able to tell us "By opening this package, you give up your right to privacy." and have such an abomination supported by the courts. A corporation should not be able to tell us "You bought this entertainment object, but you can only enjoy it on equipment that we approve of." A corporation should not be able to say "Even though will sold you this product claiming it can do what you want, if it doesn't work at all and in fact screws up badly and possibly even kills someone becuase we didn't test it properly, tough luck you can't sue us."

I can listen to a CD I paid for on one CD player but not another? That is ludicrous. I don't want to steal from companies, but nor do I wish to give up my rights in order to fit in better with their marketing plan or to make up for deficiencies in their business model. If I buy a CD, I should be able to listen to it, make a backup, make mix tapes, loan it to a friend, make a mobile out of it, spray paint it black and nail it to the wall, or attempt to perfect ...

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