2 ms·

If almost no one is in favor of a piece of legislation, and there are millions vehemently opposed to it, why in God's name is it still being considered? Is it r

If almost no one is in favor of a piece of legislation, and there are millions vehemently opposed to it, why in God's name is it still being considered? Is it really just so certain Congressman can collect money from the proponents of the bill? Just playing devil's advocate... Consider the civil rights laws of the 50s and 60s. These were widely (albeit not universally) reviled, but passing the laws was the right thing to do (in most cases). Indeed, having sworn to uphold the Constitution, the legislators may have been obligated to do so. I do not believe that a strong case can be made for SOPA in this way. But it's definitely a mistake to believe that all legislation should be determined on purely democratic grounds.

ezy 15y ago
Civil rights legislation was not "widely reviled". People were protesting in the streets for god's sake. It was not universally approved, of course, especially in the southern states. But I don't think there's a really a comparison to be made here. SOPA was/is bought and paid for for a clearly tiny minority of interests. The civil rights laws emerged as a result of a contentious political process spurred on by protests and resistance by a sizable part of the population. It was certainly democratically motivated --- just not in the sense of counting heads. SOPA has nothing to do with democracy at all. It's about corporations protecting their interests. This happens all the time, of course, but to say that democracy should be thrown out the window because, well, sometimes you just have to "do the right thing" is garbage.