Over this Independence Day weekend, I spent some time thinking about what we celebrate every July 4th. Obviously, there are the historic events of a nation state founded in rebellion against monarchical authority and a revolutionary document declaring independence from that authority. As we gathered with our family and our friends to gaze at a sky made brilliant by fire and sulfur, did we stop to consider the state of independence today? Is independence simply a legacy inherited from our long departed founders? I think not. If our history tells us anything, it is that our independence, rights, and liberties are never complete; they are always the fruit of long struggles, both personal and collective. What contemporary authorities must we challenge today as we work for a better world tomorrow? And what, today, deserves our celebration as we honor the spirit of independence?
According to Merriam Webster:
in·de·pen·dent
Pronunciation:
\ˌin-də-ˈpen-dənt\
Function: adjective
1: not dependent: as a (1): not subject to control by others : self-governing...
One space where individuals and communities can experience the challenges and opportunities of independent self-governance is the World Wide Web. As outlined in the Future of Music Manifesto, digital technologies and the web have created a space for musicians and their audiences to connect�, independent of the large music industry conglomerates that had previously dictated the terms of the music market for both creators and fans. It has turned the profession and industry of journalism upside down, while opening new territory for citizen journalists and independent media. From the pioneering grassroots journalists in the global Independent Media Center network, to the contemporary global political blogosphere curated by Global Voices, people are learning that they can do more than consume media messages produced by large and remote corporations - they can declare their independence and be the media. Using the Web, people connect to each other and create innovate ways to tell the stories that matter most to them.
On July 4th, we celebrate the independence of the US. On September 22, One Web Day gives us a chance to celebrate how the Web to empowers individuals and communities to claim ever more independence and liberty. It will be celebrated in cities and towns all over the world.
The idea of celebrating "the Web" might sound, at first, a bit too abstract. What are we celebrating? Web pages, links, lolcats? Is it about the servers, routers, and technical protocols that push electronic bits around the globe? These things have a lot to do with "the Web," but ultimately, they are the means, not the end. By bringing people together in celebration, One Web Day shows us the human face of the Web. For a spider, the power of a web is not in the strands of silk, but in their intricate interconnectedness. For our increasingly global society, the same is true of the Web: its power lies in the connections it builds between people, the linking of stories and voices and human relationships. It is about the flip-side of independence, which I believe is interdependence, for we can never face the power of illegitimate authority alone. To the degree that the Web strengthens our interdependence and our ability to struggle for independence, I think that's something worth celebrating.
As we prepare to celebrate One Web Day, let us also take the time to ask what authorities would stifle the liberating potential of the Web. As One Web Day founder, Susan Crawford, has tirelessly argued, there are any number of Internet gatekeepers who would quell the rising tide of independence and freedom on the Web. Just as our founders questioned the political and moral authority of the monarch, so we should challenge those forces that today claim the power to determine the future of the Internet and the World Wide Web. It should go without saying that we also need to do a better job than the founders in fighting for the inclusion of everyone in the digital world we are building.
Can one day accomplish all of this? One day will not be enough. However, we must start somewhere, and One Web Day gives us the opportunity to focus our attention and energy on the promise and challenge we face building a Web that engenders the ideals of independence and freedom. One Web Day is September 22. I hope you will join me in celebration of and in struggle for One Web for All.
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"To be sure, [society] cannot exist except through the individuals who serve as its substratum; it is, however, something more than a collection of individuals. A whole is not identical to the sum of its parts, even though without them it would be nothing. In the same way, by coming together in a definite structure..., men [sic] form a new entity which has its own nature and its own laws." -Emile Durkheim, A Course in Sociology
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Why do wars and revolutions happen? We do not know. We know only that to produce the one or the other men [sic] form themselves into a certain combination in which all take part; and we say that this is the nature of men [sic], that this is the law" -Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
"A phase transition is a sudden, global change in behaviour arising from the interactions of many constituent particles" -Philip Ball, Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads to Another
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About Me
- Nathaniel James
- Washington, DC, United States
- In my professional life, I'm the Campaign Coordinator at the Media and Democracy Coalition. Beyond my commitment to advancing the values of justice and democracy in the media sphere through policy change and advancing community media, I have an intense interest in the social structure and process of intra and inter-organizational collaboration; social networks and social network analysis; network theory; complex systems; and emergent phenomenon. The views expressed here are my own and don't reflect the positions of any organizational entity.