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7

®A well-infol~ed citizenry being esscn-
tial to the betterment of our republic, the
right of thc poople to own and use
computers shall not be abridged.-

(proposed Amendment to the Constitution)

	Your computer is your newest tool for securing
and expanding your freedom. While earlier ages
gave real po}it'cal and economic power to those who
rode horses or wore armor or carried firearms,
today, real power is wielded by those who can usc a
computer.

	The "computer revolution" is al1 but over. If you
do not know how to use a computer, you are
illiterate. If you cen't write a program, you are poor
in a society where information is wealth. If you can't
follow a mcnu or a manual, you are isolated in a
world of mass communication.

	Over the last 30 years, we have experienced a
rapid accoleration of this trend toward an economy
dnven by the transfer of information.

	A fishe'~.lan uses his computer to keep track of
his catches. Over the years he has used BASIC,
Visi-Calc and now dBase III to build a database
which inclndes the date of the catch, the species,
weight and length of the fish, the water
temperature, alr temperature and pressure, and the
lure or beit~

	A farmer has jost bought a used personal
computer and a new herd management program. He
knows that it will be years before he and his sons Wil1
bc ablc to go back over the accumulated data to set a
oroper course for the management of their land and
livestock over the ncxt 12 years. ln the meantime,
they calculate their .ncomes and expenses on a
monthly basis. And the yonngest learns the ABCs
wi~h a Sesame Street diskette.

	Using a personal computer, a financial analyst
can Iceep track of: the New York Stock Exchangc;
the Amencen Stock Exchange; several regional
stoclc exchanges; Comdex (Commodities Exchan-
gc); London and Hong Kong Gold, Fannie Mae,
Ginnie Mae, Sallie Mae; Treasury Balance and T-

~y Mlcheal E. Maroffe

Bill rates; and more. blost important is the fact that
this analyst cen run these raw data throngh various
econometric models to test for short and long-term
trends, seek out maximum profits from interest
rates and brokerage fees, and minimize taxation by
comparing investments in different states and
nations.

"The 'computer revolution 'is all
but over. lf you do not know
how to use ~ computer, you are
illiterate. "

	Today, we are witnessing the culm~nation of a
trend. Pcrsonal ~omputing is now ~ "given."
Sameone who lives frugally can purchase a usod

	-~nuter with a CRT, 4Bk of RAM, and two single
~ensity daves for about $200. A person who is
employed at a high-tech or unionized job can afford
the same level of computer power enjoyed by
corporations and governments. We are at a stage in
history where the average individual cen be a dam
processing center.

	Naturally, goveroments don't want this to
happen.

	In Britain, the government now requires everyone
with a database to inform the State of what data
they hold and how they got it. The lsw was passed
(ostensibly) to protect people from unauthorized
transfer of data about them by private organi-
zations. Of course, the law does not apply to tbe
government.

	Whilc such dracon~n mtasures arc not neces-
sanly part of America's future, some trcnds can
easily push us into a fascist society. For onc thing,
thc election of a rightwing, church~riented presi-
dent (or vice president, since this could come about
as an internal compromise) could definitely be the
springboard which would givc Congress thc excosc

