I was inspired last week to see our generally apathetic generation rise up and protest the despicable bill currently in the U.S. Congress known under the acronym SOPA.

The Stop Online Piracy Act, SOPA, was introduced in the House by Texas Rep. Lamar Smith in an attempt to provide more security to owners of intellectual property and bolster copyright laws in an era of rampant online piracy and file-sharing. The bill’s cohort in the neighboring Senate was dubbed PIPA, or the Protect Intellectual Property Act. This bill was a watered-down version of the House bill.

The effect of the bill, however, could have been potentially devastating. It would give federal agencies the right to protect copyrighted materials available on the Internet, such as music, images, films and other materials. While the intention here is excellent, and creations of individuals must be protected, censorship of a free global body is absolutely the wrong way to do so.

Any guardian of freedom and free expression can recognize that when the government makes any move towards censorship and towards stifling free peoples’ access to information, any move towards restriction of a body like the Internet, people are bound to rise up and oppose the devious measure that affects their way of life and everyday activities.

The self-imposed blackouts of ubiquitous websites like Wikipedia and Tumblr were extremely effective in galvanizing internet users to stand against SOPA/PIPA.  

When the websites’ officials restricted access to their page in an affront against government intrusion, people understood the grievous consequences that the federal bill might have.  The sites going dark not only brought awareness to the issues, but also urged people to act, contact their representatives and politically organize.

Being politically active for some time, I’ve observed many of my peers and colleagues participate in politics and civic affairs at varying levels, the vast majority being minimally engaged or entirely not involved. While many in our generation are registered to vote, we must ask ourselves if they actually cast a ballot.

Do they research and vet their candidates and issues? If so, do they volunteer their time for the people and issues that matter and speak to their passions? Have they ever been engaged in working for a campaign, or running for office? My goals and ideas may be lofty, but I believe in the work ethic and intelligence of our generation and wish we could me more involved and engaged in politics and government at all levels.

So when I see my friends’ growing, ongoing, vocal and vociferous opposition to SOPA and PIPA on social networking sites like Facebook, I am filled with hope and optimism; if we can oppose this dreadful measure in the Congress, we can do anything.

If we can organize one another in an effort to crush a freedom-killing bill that would directly limit our freedoms, we can fight the great ills of our time.

We can restore the Constitution and use it constrain government to its defined limits. We can fight bigotry when we see it and ensure that each citizen in our republic receives fair and equitable treatment.

We can, together, restore common sense to our nation and restore our nation to its proper place of leadership and prestige in the international community.