Mike Duvos writes:
I would certainly oppose any law which said that parents could completely control a minor's access to information in order to make sure that the parent's perspective was the only one presented.
This won't cut it. No outsiders can interfere with how I raise my children, in terms of the views I expose them to. ("Public schooling" is not the issue, as children can be sent to Xtian, Buddhist, Adventist, or whatever schools,...so long as minimal standards are met. There is no requirement for ideological or memetic balance.) Practically, any system such as Mike proposes above would fail. Parents have control over the reading material of children. Ditto for television, movies, etc. I'm getting involved here in this political discussion because some Cyherpunks think it's OK to forcibly butt into how others raise their children, that this is somehow consistent with a Cypherpunk attitude about information and liberty. It's not. We saw this idea that "parents cannot force their children ..." reach its fruition in the Branch Davidian case, where the BATF had to burn the children in order to save the children. I reject the notion that the state needs to intervene in families in order to make sure that balanced and appropriate views are provided. --Tim May -- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^859433 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. "National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."