Children and the Net

[Timothy C. May]

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


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