Okay... it's a touchy subject, but someone must talk about it. We all know that the government constantly works to gain more power and more control over the people. If you don't see that... then you must be blind. They often step out of the bounds that our founding fathers set forth... but are put back in check by the Supreme Court. Well... at least most of the time.

Recent attempts by the government to control the Internet were a joke. The CDA Bill, as an example, was an obvious over-stepping of bounds by the United States government. They were trying to control something that they do not own, and should not interfere with. They tried to tame the semi-wild Internet by placing constitution-violating restrictions on the people that use the Internet. Thankfully, they failed... the Supreme Court put them in check once more.

From its original conception, the Internet was meant to be a network with no owners, few regulations, and unlimited information. No single country could control it... and no single body would ever govern it. That is one of the reasons why the Internet became so popular... it is the land of the free. Countries have tried to control what comes in and what leaves their country, through the means of the Internet... but have failed.

The Internet is not the only way that the government tries to gain more control over the people. There have been many laws, taxes, restrictions, thoughts (brainwashing), and other measures taken by the government in order to take control of your life. It seems as if our government wants to make this nation "the home of the not-so-free, individual annihilating government" instead of "the home of the free" as it was intended to be. This nation was founded on the beliefs of freedom... but it seems as if that is disappearing.

Don't get me wrong... the government is not all that bad. They are just extremely corrupt, careless with money and greedy. Not to mention that they are also power hungry control freaks. One could even go to the extent of saying that they are developing the "big brother" attitude, or mentality of thinking.

It would be nice to have total freedom, but with that comes total chaos. Restrictions are worthwhile... to an extent. One reason why total freedom is impossible to implement is the fact that people would be able to do whatever they want... without regard to the repercussions of their actions. With the mentality of some of the people in this nation, people would steal, rape, murder and destroy everything they felt like and as a result... the nation would crumble. No nation governed by anarchy could survive... especially a nation the size of the United States.

Historically it has been the Communist countries, or totalitarian dictatorships, that tend to practice the "big brother" theory to some extent. Recently, this seems to be changing. Let's talk about the "big brother" concept: someone all-powerful, all-knowing and all-seeing is controlling every aspect of your life. What is it that Communist countries do? They try to take away all your possessions, to make everyone equal, to work collectively... as a programmed group. To me, this seems like they are taking away a person's individuality. I, for one, do not like being classified, stereotyped into a role. I like to be myself, to be the real me... not what someone thinks I should be.

The "big brother" governments disguise their freedom-robbing actions by saying that they are doing what is best for you, best for the group, or best for everyone. That sounds quite familiar... Democracies seem to do the same thing, so are Democracies any better? How do they know what is best for me? Even if they think they know what I want, and maybe they do, but what happened to individual thought and freedom? Personally, I would rather make the wrong choices and have the right to make my own decisions... than to have someone else controlling my life.

Maybe I am a minority in my wanting to be able to control my own destiny, to mold my life as I see fit, but wasn't that one of the principles that our founding fathers set for us to follow? What about how the Constitution says that the government should protect the rights of the minority, as well as the majority? Maybe our government has forgotten that.

Every day, it seems like the government takes away more of my rights to be an individual... adopting more policies of the "big brother" type governments. One example is the classifications that are placed on generations. The governments has labeled my generation as "Generation X," but what the hell does that mean? Regardless of what it means... it is a misnomer and unwanted. People vary greatly, even if they are from the same generation. I know I don't want to be classified by any label, even if it is as broad as "Generation X." I want to be the individual that I am... I want to be myself.

I expressed my views, my opinions, now it is our turn. Don't let the government take away your individuality. Don't let them stop your right to control your own destiny. Voice yourself... don't stay silent.