Reading the newspaper today I came across an article on the crime/non-crime of cd/dvd burning. Apparently over 70% of our youth (13-26 year olds) are convinced that it is a crime to copy a cd they bought or a dvd they bought.
This train of thought got me reminiscing to my childhood. I remember side by side vcr's designed soley for the purpose of copying vhs tapes. Side by side tape decks designed to what... that's right, copy tapes. I have fond memories of spending hours compiling my favorite music onto one tape (a task which can be done in mere minutes today). And in all this 'copying' I can't recall anyone ever claiming they were breaking the law. It was just a given that you could do as you pleased with what you bought, and that included copying said item.
In trying to analyze how we came to this conclusion that making copy's of stuff you bought is a crime, I can come to only one conclusion. The whole dilema is driven by greed. Producers just can't stand the thought of someone enjoying something they made without recieving money for it. Apparently multi-billion dollar sells just aren't enough anymore. No, now they must acuse kids sharing their favorite songs of piracy. How dare they do that without our concent?
Benjamin Franklin was one of the most revered and succesful scientist/inventors of his time. Yet he refused to Patent a single invention. He felt that his inventions were for the benefit of all men, and that to Patent them would be criminal. I wonder what he would think of today's America where you are lucky if they haven't Patented the sneeze. Where the sharing of information is a crime.
I guess I'm amazed to see how drastically thinking has changed in just my short lifetime. Makes me wonder what the popular train of thought will be when I'm a grandfather.
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