As I heard the story, back in the day in my home town, there was no beer store. One day a group of people suggested one be built but it was shot down. Some time later, again, more people said it should be built but that was rejected. Some time later even more people said there should be a beer store but that, too, was rejected. Finally, one day, a majority of the people said there should be a beer store and, this time, they got it. Democracy in action? Maybe, but this is a parable and, as go all good parables, the application is much broader.
In a previous blog, I linked Michael Geist’s article on the copyright lobby coming back from the dead to pressure the government into more copyright reform and this after an ongoing national debate that has spanned the better part of the last decade if not more. The lobby never stops. The citizenry, equally, can never stop. We must raise our children and continue, ourselves, to know and understand the issues, and ceaselessly work to prevent the slippery slope that lobbies perpetrate in their own unceasing efforts to get what they want.
It’s not just about a beer store. It’s not just about copyright legislation. Instead, this blog is a reminder that our victories are only for the moment. They are not strategic on the way to a final decision. So we must continue to face up to the opposition time and again, knowing and understanding the issues, and being able to respond with sound, convicting reason.