My Sunday Thought for February 7, 2016: Internet, Enter Evil?

A knife might be a good analogy. It has the capacity to do much harm, and has killed many, many people. But when used properly it also has the capacity to make life more convenient and even to heal the dangerously ill. And despite knives' negative potential, we continue to use them in our homes—though we exercise caution and make sure they don't fall into the hands of children.

-- Moshe Goldman, "Is the Internet Evil?"

Mankind has such capacity for good, and yet we constantly strive to foment evil in our lives.  You don't agree with this comment?  Consider those that do not want internet rules and controls.  Why not?  Why not protect society from criminal, evil, and immoral practices which the internet so freely allows?  Why don't people want these controls to protect them from themselves? For the simple reason that the internet, as it is, allows them to ply their trade in criminal, evil, and immoral enterprise which is making them billions of dollars.

For many of us, not involved in these sinful excesses, we, none the less, enjoy the fruits of their labor; the products they produce on the "free" internet.  For those of us that aren't making the money and feel there should be no control, what are you involved in that you can't just as easily accomplish in a safer, policed, and controlled environment?  What illegal, or immoral, activities prohibit you from finding some reasonable middle ground for policing of the internet?  It is easy to understand why the kings of sin and vice don't want policing of their activities, but why doesn't law abiding society?

Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men.

-- Ayn Rand (1905-1982), novelist

One must understand that I do not agree with government intervention in our lives.  I have a problem with policing our lives, our privacy, and living in George Orwell's world of 1984.  But, as a person with a modicum of moral character, I also see the intense evil available at our fingertips through gross misuse of the most phenomenal technology the world has ever known.  How did it get so far out of hand?  Or did it?  Was it intended, from the onset, to destroy the very fabric of our society, the world, as we know it?  Have we been looking for the anti-Christ in all the wrong places?

The internet is a logical progression of information technology.  The world and all we know is now at our fingertips.  We can research, work, purchase, entertain, communicate, worship, and so much more, from the comfort of our own space.  There is, literally, no reason to ever leave your house.  No need for social interaction, no real requirement for interpersonal communication, no reason to suffer the warmth, the physical touch, of another human being.  Life is good?

The Islamic State can recruit the insane, sociopathic, dregs of our society to assist them in murdering innocence.  Hillary Clinton can reveal beyond Top Secret information to our enemies.  Our children can hook up with predators that surf the net for the unsuspecting future molestation victims.  Evil also lurks on sites like Craig's List, looking for the ways to steal, rape, and murder those simply searching for a deal.  Such a deal!  And there are always offerings of pornography and gaming, for those searching for an escape.  There will always be those offering a means of escape, you simply have to be willing to take a bite of the apple.  Sin and vice, murder and rape, treason, libel, lies, and the worst mankind has to offer, all at the click of a mouse.  Life is good?

I think privacy is valuable. You don't have to share everything, and it's healthy to occasionally hit the pause button and ask yourself if you're oversharing. But at the end of the day, if you're not doing anything wrong, you don't have anything to hide.

-- Ashton Kutcher, actor, producer

When I think about government intervention in my private life, I think about what I'm doing that I don't want my government to know about.  Everything we do on the internet they know about anyway.  If you want to keep secrets the internet is the last place to look for that privacy.  Everyone is so concerned about our communications being monitored, yet our laws protect us from information gleaned without due process.  Don't our laws protect us? Isn't it true that police activities cannot use information they find that doesn't relate directly to a case, nor can they come back later and investigate due to this information?  Aren't police activities, more than we realize, supposed to be very careful not to look at more than they need to for the very reason that the illegal manner in which they come about the information may squirrel up a future case?  If it isn't part of the warrant, the purpose for the search... but, what if the courts allow it?

The question all comes back to, "Why?"  What are we involved in that we don't want others to know about, especially government agencies?  Are we doing something immoral or illegal, or are we simply afraid of government overreach of their authority?  Lord knows there is ample evidence to base our fears on this kind of overreach.  Why are we afraid?

Sell your confidence at a high price, if at all; to be strong, keep your own counsel.

-- Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870), author

Why are we afraid of losing privacy that we voluntarily plaster all over the World Wide Web for everyone to peruse at their leisure?  We do our banking, our stock purchases, and other business all on the internet.  We cheat on our taxes and our spouses, frequent porn sites,  join terrorist organizations, and post photos of ourselves in compromising poses, all n the internet.  We do all of this with the misguided notion that there is already some security giving us an expectation of privacy already in place.  We do this as we forget there is very little that cannot be hacked into by someone with the knowledge to do so, and they do it all the time.  Privacy?  If you want privacy, keep it private.  The best way to reveal a secret is to tell someone.

What it seems to come down to, is our sense of morality.  If we have nothing to hide, why are we hiding it?  If secrets are the devil's playground, what does that make the internet?

The internet is a tool.  Like any other tool it needs to be used properly.  A shovel is for digging, and yet it can readily be used to hit someone over the head with.  Guns don't kill people, people kill people.  The internet isn't intended to be evil; the people who use it have the capacity to make it that way.  We are human beings and, as such, our capacity for goo is boundless, but we must always be mindful of our unerring capacity to, also, screw up a wet dream.  If it can be broken, we will forever search for a way to break it.  Isn't it in our nature to do so?

The closing of a door can bring blessed privacy and comfort - the opening, terror. Conversely, the closing of a door can be a sad and final thing - the opening a wonderfully joyous moment.

-- Andy Rooney (1919-2011), writer, humorist, commentator

I think that before we allow our children on the internet, we need to ensure parental security is in place.  Yes, the easy way is to simply apply the applicable security many programs now offer.  It is easy and requires a definite lack of burdensome, time consuming parenting.  The better idea is to apply a healthy dose of burdensome, time consuming parenting, which is actually a large part of the responsibility you signed on for when you made the totally selfish decision to have children.  At this point you're probably saying you should have bought a dog.  Do us all a favor, if you can't be responsible enough for children, you certainly can't have a pet, and vice versa.  It is all about being responsible for the care, feeding, and upbringing of another life.

Take the time to parent.  Take the time to mentor.  Take the time to, not only apply the security protocols to television and computer, but sit down and explain the why of it all.  Explain the dangers to their security, morality, life, and their eternal soul.  They will hit you with, "You don't trust me!"  They are right, we don't.  We do, however, love and worry about them.  Oh, and trust?  It isn't freely handed out like so many participation trophies, it is something hard earned.  Better they learn about trust early, before they have to hold down a job, which, by the way, is another probable benefit of proper parenting.

Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.

-- James Baldwin (1924-1987), minister, writer, poet

Just a thought.

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."