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As we travel through history we find countless statements made by the great and the good (usually those who have risen to the top in politics or public life) telling us that they "protect" us either through trade barriers or censorship, always for our own good.

Whether we consider the Russians of the cold war era where their people were fed state propoganda as Pravda (truth in Russian); The Americans where they are told their country closes its borders to trade to protect jobs; The chinese who block the internet to protect their people from the bad' influences of the west or less obviously the British where we find ourselves in a nanny state where pressure groups influence politicians who then decide what's good for us.....all are in basic terms the same.

These poeple, who control us, what we see, hear and watch, all believe they do it for our' good in simple terms they believe that they know better than us; that they are better than us. Whether they do that for political control or simply to shape the establishment the sad thing is that their conviction is simply set by delusions of superiority.

And history does not support them. Counties that open themselves up to trade may find the grim reality is tough for a while but, in the end, they always flourish as a result of being more competitive and quicker to act; and in the censorship of fact and access to information, those states who control it always create a sluggishness of mind in their communities where the reality of the real world is hidden and, as a consequence, it cannot be debated and managed by opinion.

The USA, the greatest protector of its trade borders, has a weak and ineffective economy and a closed mind to the realities of its shifting position in the world; it is in terminal decline but most Americans can't even see it I work in finance and banking and have experienced the way in which the world is moving away from their currency, their banks and their options for investment.

Similarly, the attempts of various countries to regulate the internet, whilst often an acknowledgement of their inability to cope with the new world of self expression and thought, also see the effect through shifts in public opinion and a disconnection of their people from their own methods of control.

The internet is the worlds greatest opinion pole. People access that which they want to see and read - by its deregulated nature it gives direct proof of whats hot and what's not. And the ability it gives all of us to express our opinions, find out about the things that interest us and (it has to be said) satisfy whatever sexual urges we may have,gives it a unique position in history as a voice for the oppressed and those who would normally be shunned by society because they don't conform.

The two things are the same...they are born from the same desire of a few to limit the understanding of the many...because they are better than us.

Well here's some news for them...they are not and they will never succeed in regulating this wonderful internet world. They can create all the laws they want but people will (in their millions) strive to use the open forum of the internet to the full. I am highly encouraged by the way the internet opens the lives of many and, whilst politicians hate that they cannot stop it. So yes google are absolutely correct, and the motivations of those who try to interfere in this world forum are exactly the same as those who mess with free and open trade.

Learn more about this author, Alan Ingleson.
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