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In this post I’d like to explore free communication. The internet is an amazing and wonderful tool. It allows an exchange of information that we’ve never before had access to. Any question you may have can be answered in moments with only a few keystrokes… Being quite curious by nature I look up all manner of obscure factoids. Also we are able to keep in touch with friends and family, real time; we are truly a “connected” society. Information, instruction and world events stand at the ready, waiting only for a question. Anyone can do it.
However, innocent learning and communication is not the only purpose free communication can serve. These mechanisms can be exploited for other use. We don’t have far to look, terrorism is global and we have not been spared. Not only have we seen the devastating effects of terrorism on our own soil we also have seen an increased recruitment of world citizens targeted by terrorist organizations. Want to build a bomb? You got it, just search and you’ll find the answers (may I point out that I have not made any queries on this subject and I am not suggesting that you should either… only that it’s a well-documented fact that the information is available). Al Queda has an online magazine, Anwar al-Awlaki has many hours of extremist sermons on YouTube of all places, “In May 2010 Roshonara Choudhry stabbed the British M.P. Stephen Timms after having watched 100 hours of extremist sermons by Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. … Al-Awlaki’s other followers include the Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, the Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, and the Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad.” (Ferguson, 2011).
Now here is the thought to ponder. As much as we value our freedom of speech, shouldn’t restraint sometimes be in order? The recent Quran burning in Florida sent shockwaves around the world and inflamed Islamist militant organizations… how? Cell phone and internet access (Ferguson, 2011). So what exactly is the balance between freedom of speech and restraint? Our freedoms are precious, and yet they can easily be exploited and manipulated into something destructive. This is a fine line, as we become more interconnected we are not only national citizens but world citizens. We must learn about other cultures, peoples, their values and treat them with respect if we are to live side by side in peace.
An afterthought?
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| Chisholm S. (2011) |
An obvious problem with our “war on terror” (do we still call it that?) is that it is reactive rather than proactive. Militant organizations use communication tools to plan, organize and fund their actions around the world. Almost as an echo to my thoughts on this subject we learned that Osama bin Laden had at long last been located and assassinated. He was in the end tracked down by his use of communication. Word spread quickly and people assembled around the world. This was a monumental event. How did the word spread? Virally of course! I was on my way home from Baltimore when I learned the news.
But even more interesting to me is the administration’s decision not to release photographic documentation of the assassination itself due to its inflammatory nature. In fact many details of this mission that have been revealed in the news were specifically designed with the intent to minimize the stirring of passions. Remember, we see the death of a man who symbolizes a horrible time in our world history. But this man has devout followers, who believe their truth just as passionately as we believe ours.
References:
Chisholm, S. (2011/05/01) original image
Ferguson, N. (2011, April 10). The Mash of Civilizations Social networks might promote democracy, but they also empower the enemies of freedom. Newsweek, retrieved from web http://www.newsweek.com/2011/04/10/the-mash-of-civilizations.html
Image retrieved May, 2011 http://keenetrial.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Cat-Surfing-The-Web.jpg
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