The future is here…

Originally published: January 8, 2006

William Gibson, the writer who coined the term, “cyberspace” said it:

“The future is here. It’s just not evenly distributed yet.”

I’m a glass “half full” kind of guy, but there’s a shadow on the future…

Blogging has taken off in China with 3 million blogs to date and the total number doubling at the rate of every five months.

That’s a good thing.

The more people who have the means to express their ideas, the better.

What’s not so good is the Chinese government’s reaction to its citizens’ desire to self-publish.

At the end of 2005, Microsoft, presumably at the request of the Chinese government, hit the “delete” button on a blog published by Chinese journalist Zhao Jing.

According the the Wall Street Journal, last fall, the government issued rules prohibiting bloggers from posting content that “goes against state security and public interest.”

Which means the same thing in China that it means in the US: anything that makes the top dogs look bad.

In China today,  according the the Journal article, typing forbidden phrases such as ‘human rights’ and ‘democracy’ into some automated blogging systems, including MSN Spaces, will net an error message: “The title must not contain forbidden language.”

Imagine. ‘Human rights’ and ‘democracy’ thrown in the same pile as dirty words.

Critics are, by nature, annoying people. After all, it’s a lot more pleasant to be on the receiving end of praise and endless blue sky, “don’t worry be happy” prognostications.

And when there’s so much money to be made, why rock the boat?

Maybe because life is about more than making money.

Honest debate is the source of intelligence and the ability to speak one’s mind freely is one of the basic human dignities.

In the  mid-1990s,  when we did a lot of web production for other people, one of our clients was Random House and we helped with the promotion for Wei Jingsheng’s book “The Courage to Stand Alone.” Wei had spent nearly 20 years in prison refusing to renounce his calls for democracy in China.

Some of the comments he made after being released from prison really stuck with me:

“I have waited decades for this chance to exercise my right to free speech, but the Chinese people have been waiting for centuries.”

“Those who already enjoy democracy, liberty, and human rights should not allow their own personal happiness to lull them into forgetting the many who are still struggling against tyranny.”

“Trade and democracy have nothing to do with each other. The biggest beneficiary of U.S. trade with China is the Chinese Communist Party, not the American people or the Chinese people.”

We don’t hear many voices like Wei Jingsheng’s in the West because they’re not “fashionable.”

That’s a mistake on our part.

Remember what Gibson said: “The future is here. It’s just not evenly distributed yet.”

What kind of future?

That’s up to us.

Benjamin Franklin put it well when he said: “We must all hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

Martin Luther King put it even better:

“Cowardice asks the question, “Is it safe?”

Expediency asks the question, “Is is politic?”

Vanity asks the question, “Is it popular?”

But conscience asks the question, “Is it right?”

Stifling honest debate is not right.

Ronald Reagan is famous for telling the Russian communists: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

We need a modern version:

“Mr. Wen Jiabo, Premier of China, tear down these blog filters.”

All the advanced communications technology in the world isn’t worth a damn if people aren’t free to use it to speak the truth as they see it.

Note: I made this site in 1997 – and it looks it – about Wei Jingsheng’s case but you might find it interesting:  The Courage to Stand Alone

– Ken McCarthy

P.S. For over 25 years I’ve been sharing the simple but powerful things that matter in business with my clients.

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