Freedom of the Internet

Ever since I can remember my father, who is a Mexico native, would tell me how amazing his home country is, and how Mexico is such a great place. Yes, Mexico is beautiful, full of history, and a great place to party, but that is very subjective.  My dad now lives back in Mexico, and I don't know if you all know this but there is a drug war going on in Mexico. I fear everyday for my dad's life and hope that he stays safe.  It saddens me to know that our neighboring country is in such turmoil and we as US citizens may not even realize it.  You are probably wondering where I am going with this. Well, as a person born and raised in the United States (besides when I was 2-3) I feel like I take advantage of the freedom that I am given in this country. I rarely stop and really think about what I have, and how grateful I am for it.  From being able to vote in our leader, to me being a woman able gain an education, to something as small as the freedom to use the Internet.

In my Writing 122 class we read an amazing article, "Communication Key To Egypt's Uprising," written by Hany Rashwan right after the fall of Egypt's pharaoh in 2011.  The article specifically talks about how the World Wide Web played a key role in the protest, and helped the Egyptians summon up the courage to rally against the pharaoh. Specifically, Google, Facebook, and Twitter.  On top of the Internet helping a struggling country, Rashwan speaks of how it is breaking barriers when it comes to labels.  One of the most memorable quotes from the piece comes from Wael Ghonim, the Middle-Eastern Google executive  "If you want to liberate a government, give them the Internet."

Rashwan goes on to explain that the Internet allows anyone regardless of gender age, ethnicity or beliefs full freedom to use and contribute back to the Internet.  The fact that the Internet has brought awareness to so many things throughout the world through social media is the beauty of the Internet.


"It is not America's Internet or Europe's Internet; it's the World Wide Web"- Hany Rashwan

After reading the article, I really had time to think about Hany Rashwan's approach to the subject. I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated his technique. Obviously I am not from Egypt, in fact, the life in Egypt feels worlds away, but Rashwan's words started to really hit home when he talked about the social media networks. Being 24 years old, and a college student, it is almost impossible to go a day without hearing the words "facebook," or "tweet," so when Rashwan shared that the country of Egypt used these exact media to get their point across I instantly knew what that meant. Rashwan was very aware of his audience and was clever with his approach to the subject of not only the advantages of the Internet but also to the walls of racism it is tearing down.   I just today "liked" a page on Facebook about anti-bullying. With things like Facebook, and Twitter, we can get awareness to causes in mere minutes.  The Internet is something that I think I take advantage of, because of it's accessibility, but I don't ever forget how lucky I am to be an American.