Just how long is it going to take the various governments around the world to learn that you just can’t put restrictions on human behavior and expect them to succeed? Look at China and their one child policy for example. All that did was create an environment rife with child abductions. Remember prohibition in the 30’s? How about the French revolution? We all know how well they went over. History is full of such examples. What the entertainment industry wants is not any different. You can get all the restrictive laws passed that you want, but in the end things will only worsen. Is downloading something copyrighted wrong? Maybe immoral at best, but certainly not any more so than some of the actions we’ve been seeing from the entertainment industry over the past several years. Two wrongs may indeed not make a right, and an eye for an eye probably does mean the whole world would go blind, but ask yourself why that is exactly. Much of who we are is a direct result of how we’re raised, but a lot of it is genetically hardwired as well. No amount of policy making can change that.

When I look at the entertainment industry, I see a swimmer all alone out at sea. They can’t stop swimming, for if they do they will sink like a stone. What they so desperately need, the only thing that can help, is for someone to throw them a life preserver. They expect that someone to be the government. However, if the swimmer is unable to adapt to changing conditions, stay afloat, and save themselves, do they deserve to survive? If it were just one person, the answer would be easy. Except, it’s not one person we’re talking about here but instead an entire industry, one some would say is corrupt right to the core. It’s hard not to agree with that sentiment when you look at their lobbying activities, as well as how they treat their own customers. The only thing lawsuits are going to achieve is the ire of a nation, if not the entire world. I’m sure it’s good money for them despite this, otherwise they would not be doing it. Making your customers hate you does not make good business sense, and never will. It is my sincere hope that our government will see the wisdom in forcing the industry to abandon outdated business practices in favor of a new system that benefits everyone fairly on all sides of the copyright issue. The law of the jungle has always been adapt or die. Without a doubt it will be interesting to see how the next five to ten years unfold, especially as the youth of today become the world leaders of tomorrow.