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No censors on the `Net

TO THE DAILY:

In response to "Censor all Pornography," (2/15/96) it appears that the writer forgets what "freedom of speech" and "freedom of the press" really stand for. This nation became great because people were not inhibited by governmental restriction on their beliefs. There is also that little clause about freedom of religion, meaning there is not much validity in an argument if it only can be backed up by passages from the Bible. As to absolute standards of truth, one would have difficulty in defining such terms.

The Internet indecency act is the latest attempt of our government to try to tell us what our beliefs should be. The hypocrisy of the bill is very evident. An adult may walk down to the corner store and pick up a Playboy magazine, and yet if that person were to even mention something indecent (as deemed by our government), they might be facing jail time and fines!

One of the big arguments against this is that kids can too easily access this material on the Internet. This is true only if parents are not concerned about what their kids are getting into. There are many software programs that will block out web sex sites, and with online services such as America Online, regulating what your kids see is as easy as pushing a couple of buttons. It should be the parents' responsibility as to what their kids are viewing, and definitely not the government.

Don't get the idea that I'm advocating pornography just because I'm defending my rights against a misguided Congress (not to mention Bill Clinton). I just don't want to see various other parts of our lives become regulated, because those in Washington think it's in our "best interests." Hopefully, this law will soon be declared unconstitutional, and we won't have to worry about Uncle Sam looking over our shoulder at our computer screens.

AARON CLEMENTS

ENGINEERING FIRST-YEAR STUDENT