Famed science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin recently circulated a petition opposing the Google Books Settlement.
If you want to understand why QuestionCopyright.org exists and what we’re trying to do, you couldn’t ask for a more succint demonstration than this passage below from Le Guin’s petition:
The free and open dissemination of information and of literature, as it exists in our Public Libraries, can and should exist in the electronic media. All authors hope for that. But we cannot have free and open dissemination of information and literature unless the use of written material continues to be controlled by those who write it or own legitimate right in it. (emphasis added)
When an intelligent, sensitive author like Ursula K. Le Guin can write something like that, apparently oblivious to the glaring internal contradiction, it’s clear the time is ripe for this issue to be radically reframed.
“To have freedom, we must have monopoly and control. Up is down. Love is hate. War is peace.”
Seem odd to you too? Join us.
It is the twisting of words that move masses to support those who form the shackles and eliminate freedom. The word “Liberal” in context today – no longer means support of liberty, personal freedom, or economic freedom. Liberal was twisted to mean liberal application of federal government in the lives of our citizens. It is akin to naming a vicious pit bull “Lassie”. Who doesn’t love Lassie, until you actually come face-to-face with what you believed was man’s best friend and she forces you into a corner. Sorry for the funky metaphor, but I think it helps get the point across!