Democracy's Last Stand

This is an age full of wondrous invention and unimaginable progress. We are encountering advances in technology which used to be beyond the dreams of people who are still alive today and our velocity is only increasing. As a species we are hurtling towards a fork in the road and right now the most important piece of coal we are chucking into the engine's furnace (that's right, we're driving an old train down this road, excuse the muddled metaphors) is the Internet. A fundamental piece of our society, the Internet could soon be responsible for yet more revolution in this world, and this time it's a big 'un. 

Never before have we had such an effective device for the sharing of information. A lot of it is utter nonsense and meaningless tat (one could include my very own blog in that category), but so much is out there that you cannot ignore how useful this device is at getting important and influential enlightenments out to the general public. Charities are able to garner support and raise awareness at minimal cost, allowing them to increase resources used to change lives whilst still growing the number of people who will strive for development. Individuals can showcase works of great creativity and innovation where before their efforts would have amounted to nothing, inventions and ideas gathering dust in the forgetful shadows. Most importantly, this invasion of information has breathed new life into democratic systems all over the world. No where is this more exemplified than in recent elections, especially this month's British general election. Forget the televised debates, it is the Internet and various social networking sites that have finally made people feel like they truly are a part of the democratic process. I think you will find that that is why we had such a high turnout this time round. Don't let it stop there, I urge you, this is our chance to leap on the surge of information and embed every one of us in how the world works. Lets become so politically aware that even early 20th century Russian proletariats are impressed. And this isn't just about learning stuff, we have this immense platform to educate each other with our very own words! Can't you see that I am doing it right now, forcing my opinions onto you in an attempt to change your behaviour. Don't fight it, embrace my superior reasoning and persuasion. Or don't, tell the world how you are rejecting my preposterous ideas, either way, get your voice out there. It doesn't even matter if you're a bit stupid, I have to have something to laugh at in my pompous, cynical way.

So there we have it, one of the roads on this fork leads to the best democracy we can create. But what does the other sign point to? Unfortunately it is not nearly as appealing. This is because the ever increasing flow of information has something darker lurking under its surface. Like the leeches that skulk at the bottom of the Amazon, this fantastic river holds something sinister. The lack of privacy. We are already becoming concerned with the level of intrusion our Governments' are exercising over our lives and the hideous mistakes they are making with an abhorrent amount of them. Jokes and trivial errors are being leapt upon by those meant to be working for the greater good and innocent people are already suffering because of it. This is all down to the fact that those in control over the Internet, the Governments and our existence are getting to a point where they have access to almost every facet of our actions. We have to bare in mind that the Internet would not be at the state it is now if it weren't for it's capitalist uses. Companies can tell exactly what to market to use at every second of the day and we don't even have to move to obtain it. But we are constantly feeding this information into a system that could probably, easily and accurately simulate every minute detail of our existence, and its hard to paint that as a good thing.

Don't fret pals! Thanks to what I said before I started scaremongering, we will long be in a position to prevent the erosion of our liberties by acting together with this fantastic tool at our finger tips. Just promise me that we won't get complacent and forget to fight the bad things.

Valediction!