Before leaving, I wanted to share this poem with you. We read it in Contemporary Lit. I, and I pinned to my bedroom door years ago, to remember every day. We have to stop them from robbing us of our voice and our freedom!
Do whatever is in your power to stop SOPA/PIPA, even if you don’t live in the US.
“The first night
They approach
And pick a flower from our garden
And we don’t say anything.
The second night,
No longer hiding, they
Stomp on the flowers, kill our dog,
And we don’t say anything.
Until one day
The weakest of them
Enters our house alone
Robs us of light, and,
Knowing our fear,
Robs us of the voice of our throats.
And because we said nothing,
We no longer can say anything.”
– Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893-1930).
I’ll try to find a WiFi connection somewhere, but if I can’t, I’ll see you when I come back!
artismysanity 
January 18, 2012 at 9:05 am
Reblogged this on 365 Days of ME and commented:
Although I’m not from the U.S., I’m not naive enough to think that this narrow-minded, unimaginative piece of legislative rubbish is not going to affect someone like me as well. So everybody please sign the non-US petition against the SOPA & PIPA!!!
January 22, 2012 at 8:26 pm
Thanks for the reblog! It seems that in spite of our efforts the US government has already started censoring the internet. Today they close up Megaupload, tomorrow they’ll start censoring anyone who does or says something they don’t agree with. I can’t believe this is happening in the 21st century!
February 8, 2012 at 12:02 am
They have been censoring Americans for years.
January 18, 2012 at 10:16 am
My father spend part of his childhood under Soviet dictatorship. That’s why his family emigrated to the United States in the 1920s.
January 22, 2012 at 8:28 pm
My country (Argentina) has a sad story regarding dictatorships. The last one was less than forty years ago, and the repercussions can still be felt in every aspect of our society. When something like the SOPA and PIPA happens, I wonder what world future children will live in.
January 18, 2012 at 10:22 am
very powerful…thank you for posting!
January 22, 2012 at 8:29 pm
Thank you for taking the time to read it, Dorothy.
January 18, 2012 at 10:58 am
So glad you posted this! I did my part last night, casted my vote, told everyone I knew, and have blacked out my site for today. Hope everyone takes this seriously. This poem says it all…..so haunting. Celeste
January 22, 2012 at 8:31 pm
I hope for the same, Celeste – not only that people take it seriously, but that the US don’t pretend to not know that the internet doesn’t belong to them but to the entire world.
January 18, 2012 at 1:10 pm
There has been a lot about this but I don’t understand it. What is the basic issue protecting copyright vs freedom?
January 22, 2012 at 9:02 pm
They make it protection vs. freedom. There’s nothing wrong with protecting copyright, the problem is that these laws would give the US government far too much power – they could shut down websites because they allegedly violate copyright, without even having to prove it. Not to mention, who gives the US the right to control the internet, which belongs to the entire world? And when they have all that power, who’s to stop them from abusing it? Copyright should be protected, but not at the cost of our freedom to use the internet.
I included a couple of links on this post where you can find information about why SOPA and PIPA shouldn’t be approved, and there are lots of other websites with details about the topic if you want to read more.
January 19, 2012 at 11:05 am
I’m Canadian but I posted a Ted conversation on that topic on Facebook where a guy explains how they have tried to do the same thing over the last 20 years and what are the consequences if this bill is adopted.
January 22, 2012 at 9:06 pm
I’m not from the US either – I’m Argentinean. I think the fact that so many people from other countries are worried about and oppose SOPA and PIPA goes to prove the impact these laws would have outside the States. Let’s hope we can stop them!
January 27, 2012 at 8:56 pm
I love the poem.
January 29, 2012 at 11:11 pm
I love it, too. One of my favorite poems in the world :).
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