No Title :: essays research papers

     The advance in telecommunications will not cause muckle to be dependent on theircomputers and alone in a world of billions. Rather, it will open up new avenues indemocracy and will admirer people involve themselves more in the democratic process. Computers bed simplify voting, create less biased views of world events, and encouragemore political awareness.       sack to the polls could be a thing of the past. A click of the mouse couldinstantly register your select. Furthermore, nationwide results could be instantly tabulated,to increase voter elaboration and decrease costs. The main argument against on-line(a)voting is security. The national computer system could be hacked into, but this problemcould be rectified with a skilful computer system like that used by the Department ofDefense. Another potential problem is multiple votes. A simple solution is to use ain identification numbers, such as social security numbers. While these argumentsare valid, they can be easily solved in order to maximize the benefits of an on-line votingsystem.     It is often predicted that by the year 2000, 5-10 corporations will control most ofthe worlds important media. This concentration of ownership raises concerns that theinformation citizens receive from the media may be outlaw or biased in favor of theowner corporation. With the Internet, you can receive news almost instantaneously fromeyewitnesses. You eliminate the middle man who can criminalise the news and color the truth. A problem with news on the Internet is credibility, which is a problem in all media. Whether in a newspaper or magazine, on television or the Internet, information shouldalways be verified by other sources. Despite this, the timeliness and breadth of Internetnews can lead us to being more open and informed voters.     Computers also aid democracy by providing a unique venue for increased politicalawareness. M w hatsoever politicians and political interest groups have websites that provide awealth of information. With Internet chats, you can get to know your local governmentofficials and air any subjects that concern you. Also, anybody can now e-mail thePresident and other high ranking officials. All this makes the bureaucratic process lessimpersonal and gives us a convenient and better way to know the people and issues in ourpolitical life.     These advantages in telecommunications have created the possibility of a moredirect form of democracy, or "electronic city-state." The United States could become acountry where every citizen votes over the Internet on every law . This will not happen,however, because most congressmen would vote against an "electronic city state" as they