The recent increase in the

popularity of the Internet raises serious questions about

many of the traditional values we hold dear in this

country and on which our way of life is based.

As a child of the

technological age, I grew up with television and I have

been fortunate enough to watch as the computer moved from

an oversized box of wires and tubes used exclusively by

big business, academia, and the government to the

lightweight laptop with a chip inside which has become

the stock in trade for many people on the go.

So, I have been aware of

the explosion in knowledge which has indirectly caused an

explosion in so many other areas.

And, I have watched as our

society seemed to drift further and further away from the

traditional buoys to which it had long been anchored.

Like many who were trained

as journalists, though, I have been an observer and a

commentator on the trends which I have seen.

However, since my wife and

I have been blessed to now have two pre-schoolers living

in our home, I have become more concerned with some of

the things which formerly would not have bothered me.

For years, my bride and I

have differed somewhat on just how much free speech our

society can stand.

Like all of us who were

trained as journalists, I have always believed that the

First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution means exactly

what it says:

"Congress shall make

no law, abridging the freedom of speech or of the

press...."

I still believe that, but I

find it a little more difficult not to support putting

some restrictions on that freedom to say whatever one

pleases when the rapid expansion in the communications

industry means that those freely spoken words -

sometimes vulgarities and sometimes pornographic -

are readily available at the twist of a dial controlling

the direction of a satellite dish or with a few clicks on

a computer's keyboard.

And, because I realize that

everything which happens effects everything else which

happens afterwards, I also know that the blame for many

of the less-than-desirable changes which we have

witnessed in our society over the last three decades can

be laid squarely at the feet of those of us who

participated in that revolution in human rights and the

almost simultaneous protest against the establishment

which flowed from my generation's opposition to the war

we did not start in Vietnam.

Today, many people -

some who opposed the changes wrought by the reforms

enacted in the 1960s and some who supported them in the

streets - are looking for ways to return to

"traditional values" because we all realize

that some of those changes led to things which were never

contemplated or desired.

For instance, our society's

rush toward freedom (which some would define as

licentiousness) has led directly to the flood of

pornography which seems to be all around us - even

via the Internet (which is a great tool of knowledge)

- in our living rooms.

Now, when I was in college,

I read some publications which were the forerunners of

today's reveal-all magazines - and, yes, I looked at

the pictures!

But, the glossy magazines

with their pseudo-intellectual philosophy I read were

far, far tamer than the graphic smut which is now

available at the corner service station.

So, I am in a quandary.

And, like so many other

fair-minded individuals in society, I am wondering how

far we go in the limiting of our traditional freedom of

speech in order to protect our children from this

garbage?

For, I know as well as I

know my name, that if we as a society can not agree on

how to most responsibly exercise our freedom - in

this and other areas - then someday the leaders of

our government may feel forced to impose severe

restrictions on those who will not police themselves.

[Lee N. Howell is an

award-winning writer who has been observing politics and

society in the Southern Crescent, the state, and nation

for more than a quarter of a century.]

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