Pondering Values

Link: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/webscout/2008/05/mormon-church-s.html

I hear a lot on the net these days about how all knowledge ought to be free and copyright and intellectual property laws ought to be done away with. I suspect thse postings are by people who have never had to think for a living.

Where, I wonder, do they think all that knowledge will come from if no one gets paid to study, research, or write? I'm an author. Being an author, despite what most people think, is hard work and I would not be doing it, even though I love it, if there wasn't hope for a few dollars from it. Or rather, I wouldn't write what I write if I weren't paid. I'd write weird, loopy things no one would want to read if I were doing it for me, and I wouldn't spend hours fixing the spelling and grammar.

Most of professional writing is dull. The flashes of inspiration (rare) are fun, but then you have the real work: choosing the words and getting them on your computer screen, researching for accuracy, editing, finding a publisher, doing whatever the publisher tells you to do (writers are subject to the decisions of editors if they publish traditionally) and promoting. Mostly boring stuff. No one will be doing all that if it's all free. There might be lots of words out there, but no one would be fact-checking, doing scientific experiments, inventing, or publishing unless there was money to be made. No books, no computers, no websites...nothing. We can all go back to our caves.

Someone invented the computer you're using right now because they wanted money. Sure, they might also have wanted the fun of it, but they still wanted money. And someone built your computer because they wanted money.

Writing is my job. When you go to work each day (presuming you aren't a stay-at-home parent) you get paid. Would you go clean someone else's toilets, wait on tables, or repair roads if no one paid you to do it?

No? Then why presume I should have to work for free?

Intellectual property values protect me and allow me to pay my bills. When you publish something without permission and without paying for it, you steal from me, and theft is not only illegal, it's immoral, making it an issue of values.
Thoughts?

I spend a lot of time thinking about values. When I read a news story, I interpret it based on my values. My values are often old-fashioned and conservative, although for some reason, my views on human rights and poverty tend to be seen as a little liberal. Who knows? I'm not a good fit politically, but I like values. I like everything black and white without any gray, although as I get older, I'm more aware of all the grays.

This is a place to think about values. You're welcome to join the discussion. Please keep it polite and g-rated. No name calling or I'll send you to your room.

No spam either--it will be deleted.