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Tuesday, 24 April 2007 16:08 |
| | Janese Johnson |
New magazine rates that have been set up by the U.S Postal Service will have a devastating effect on smaller magazines, leaving larger ones to pretty much rule the news getting out.
The plan was drafted by Time-Warner, a large media company, and accepted by the U.S.P.S. without any public involvement or congressional oversight.
This act will undo some of the basic principles that were set up by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson 215 years ago. They felt that it was important to keep postal rates at a price that kept publishing competitive and wide open as possible. This competitiveness supports freedom of speech, and is quite necessary for a true democracy.
Under the new plan, smaller magazines will end up paying up to 30
percent, and larger magazines will pay up to 10 percent. The higher
increase for smaller magazines will end up closing many of their doors.
This ends up leading to the types of speech that can get out to the
masses. It basically boils down to the one with the most money wins. It
also eliminates a system that has been set up for the past 215 years.
The plan will affect each and every one of us. If you think about the
smaller magazines that are sent out and the important message that many
have to say, you will see that the variety of information that is
delivered to the masses is what keeps many of our freedoms alive.
Because we can be exposed to so many news stories, philosophies and
ideals, we are able to be a nation of free and diverse peoples.
What will happen when all of this information becomes less accessible to us?
It seems that when the smaller magazines end, then we are left with
less freedom of speech, leaving many to believe the ideas of the
magazines that have made it to the top.
Some might say that this change does not affect us because we have the Internet.
I say that if we rely on one source of getting information and
something happens to that, then where will we really be? The freedom of
the Internet has already been challenged over recent years and most
likely will be challenged again.
It is absolutely necessary for us to not sit still while these changes
are happening, because they are happening not only to us, but to our
future generations. It is quite important that we preserve the dream of
our nation that was set up 215 years ago.
At the time of the publication of this article, the deadline for
signing the petition will have ended, but that does not mean that the
deadline to communicate with our legislators will have ended.
This is an important decision that the U.S Postal has made without any
input from anyone other than big magazines and a handful of others.
With many of us opposing this new reformulation, it is possible that
this change could be prevented.
If you value your freedom of speech, and the many alternative,
political, and spiritual magazines that might be eliminated because of
this new change, then please use your speech by contacting your
congress, for the freedom of your speech.
ï
Janese Johnson has been doing intuitive counseling nationally for more
than 20 years. She may be contacted at janesej-at-buncombe.main.nc.us.
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