• to the Get FISA Right members and our allies for the hard work.  I honestly believe we're making progress!
• to Sarah in Global Comment, Maegan on Wilshire and Washington, Julian at Cato and everywhere else, Marcy at emptywheel, Jessica and Tracy on Care2, Rebecca, Harry, the various Jims, and all the others who covered the activism and the issues; and to Kevin, Michelle, Mandy, Chip, and all the other folks from "the coalition" who worked with and linked to us.
• to Harry, Colin, Tracy, Jessica, Ari, Chip, Jen, Doreen, Kyle, Sarah, and Deborah for feedback on the previous drafts.
• to Pam, Baratunde, Ari, Tracy, Maegan, Gloria, Harry, Cheryl, Jen, Shireen, Willow, Prerna, Mo, Gina, Cynthia, Jason, Rebecca, Lillie, Deborah and many others for all the discussions about social networks and diversity over the last year.  I see the latest activism as dramatic evidence supporting the theories we've discussed so many times.  At some point people will listen to us :-)

This is likely to be my last activism post for a while, as I focus on my startup Qworky.  Thanks to Pam and Jason for giving me the opportunity to explore these ideas over the last year on Pam's House Blend and The Seminal!  And a tip of the hat to Join the Impact and the "Stonewall 2.0" movement, the DREAM Activists, Color of Change, and the #iranelection protestors for showing what's possible ... and most of all to Deborah for the original vision of the transformative power of social network activism for civil liberites.


jon

But there's no doubt that it is the global future and that, increasingly, that future is here.  I have no doubt that human evolution will continue to evolve in that direction, with even greater technological connectedness.  So if we want to preserve what's good about the old approach -- human rights values of autonomy, diversity, empowerment, and equal dignity that have been enshrined in so many foundational documents, ranging from the US Bill of Rights to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- we must do a better job of furthering an updated and rich understanding of their continued relevance for this new era.

The practical relevance of such values persists:  the downside of the Millennial mindset is excessive deference to authority, an attitude forged in the crucible of 9/11 and similar terrorist attacks and the responses thereto in Europe, Asia, Africa, and all over the world.  Yet without the classic human rights values of liberty and equality, privacy and dignity for all -- so tragically sacrificed to such a significant extent worldwide in the counterterror response -- we so easily end up stumbling into a stultifying, oppressive, and chilling system like an updated, supercomputer-powered version of the former East Germany or today's Burma/Myanmar.  And that's not good for anyone other than the top officials and their minions -- as even some leaders in China realize as it gradually (too gradually) evolves toward a greater embrace of the rights that have worked pretty well elsewhere.

So . . . yes!  As systems of top-down control give way (or at least seem to change) to less hierarchical systems of collaboration and empowered equality in every realm -- ranging from politics, to business, to society generally -- let's highlight and use the contemporary social networking equivalents of the "Committees of Correspondence" that the Sons and Daughters of Liberty used at the time of the American Revolution.  

Let's just do so in ways that deeply recall, understand, and appreciate the values including autonomy, privacy (for reading and deep reflection beyond 140 characters, among other things), and self-determination as well as the crucial values of transparency, cooperation, and solidarity.  And at all times, let's remember to "question authority."  

It's absolutely essential that we retain a healthy skepticism about both old hierarchies and even the new centers of power and authority.  I would include in this not only President Obama, whose actions in this realm have been so disappointing thus far, but also the social networks themselves (and the companies running them), and even ourselves and our colleagues in the civil liberties and human rights communities.  Thomas Jefferson's comment comes to mind:  "In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."

In terms of Obama's actions, yeah, just as on the LGBTQ front there's a lot to be disappointed in so far.  That said I think if the coalition supporting civil liberties were more effective he and his strategists -- as well as Congress -- might well make somewhat different calculations.  At the CFP Birds of a Feather, we talked about how important it was to demonstrate political capital during the Patriot Act reauthorization debates.  The combination of social network activism online, BORDC/PCC's on-the-ground local ordinance campaigns, as well as the "air cover" from ACLU, EFF, the ALA and others seems like the best way to do that.

jon

jon