Outsourcing Our Moral Resolve-Video

Outsourcing Our Moral Resolve

We've all heard that no internet filter is foolproof. Undesired content will periodically get through to harass innocent users, and malicious users will always be able to find a way around any security measure. I'm sure we've also all heard, and even shared, that this is the reason why we need to have a personal moral filter to be safe. While that certainly is a reason, I very strongly feel that even if we  had a foolproof filter, where was never any chance of seeing lewd material by accident or intent, that that would in no way lessen the importance for a strong, moral compass inside. It is imperative that we be able to moderate our choices first and foremost by the strength of our own integrity, and thus we are not meant to outsource that responsibility to a software. All that being said, I do support filters and wholeheartedly recommend them, but they should only be seen as tools to complement, and never replace, our own moral resolve.

Is the Internet Good or Evil?

We have been warned of the dangers in the internet. There are threats that range from merely wasting our time to degrading our very souls. In the most extreme sense, there is a very real issue of the internet destroying lives. All these troubles and concerns can at times consume our perspective, and we might come to see this technology solely as our enemy. When in such quandaries it is important to not forget the good that these resources also make available to us today. By that I do not mean just the trivial matters of convenience we gain; that alone would not justify the cost. Such an amazing transfer of information has a power to save men from ignorance and mistake, to propagate good ideas, and to bring together worthwhile collaborations*. It may be that the internet has been allowed to remain on this earth because its potential to save the lives and souls of mankind outweighs its own threat to destroy them. The burden is on us to ensure that that potential is not being squandered.

*https://www.lds.org/ensign/1984/06/the-church-and-computers-using-tools-the-lord-has-provided?lang=eng

Not All Play by the Same Rules-Book Report

People have interesting ideas about digital networks. They want their personal profiles to be protected. They don't want their credit card numbers sold, their personal files hacked, or their identities stolen. When exchanging personal information online, they expect the website to meet certain standards of encryption to prevent the data from being stolen. When information does get stolen, they expect the vendor to have resources and obligations to compensate and restore them back to their original state. Now the only way for these things to be secured is through structure. There have to be rules, there have to be ways of monitoring whether those rules are being followed, and there have to be ways to respond to infringements of them. These rules and the enforcement of them designate an implied government.
At the same time, though, people often want the internet to be an anarchy. They want the internet to be where they say what they want to say, show what they want to show, and do what they want to do...even if those things are not always legal in the physical environment. The idea of some authoritative police moderating that self-freedom is repulsive. When legislation like SOPA or PIPA is proposed some legitimately express concern over unintended consequences, however I have noticed a great amount of hostility simply at the idea of government involvement of any sort.
Perhaps there is a logical explanation to these two very real desires that seem to be at odds with one another. It might just be preservation of self-interest. It appears that people are fiercely in support of the measures that protect them, and fiercely opposed to the measures that protect others from them. People don't want their credit cards stolen, but they also don't want to stop their illegal torrenting.