We, the undersigned, in cooperation with The Creative Coalition on America
Online (CCA), whether a member of this organization or not, do hereby protest
the censorship of our voices inflicted by the Terms of Service (TOS)
policy of America Online. We protest the infringement of this policy on
our Civil Rights and, as artists, cannot stand aside while we are
robbed of the only tools we have -- words and the ability to use them in
the way we must. As C.S. Lewis stated "Free will, though it makes evil
possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love of
goodness or joy worth having." AOL's TOS policy suffocates both love and
joy. We cannot, in good conscience, stand by and watch AOL rip away and
destroy the very fabric of our work by choosing our words for us. We will
not remain idle while our voices are being crushed by the censor's hammer.
Nor should we allow hypocrisy to exist unchecked. AOL claims to be
fighting government censorship at the same time it censors its own members.
AOL says it believes in Freedom of Speech. We say: PROVE IT!Free us from
the hammer of your own censorship policy. Provide an area for all artists
to post their work without the fear of being silenced. Banned poem from
AOL