Gore's admonition that the internet must be preserved from the encroachment of government reminds me of the work of contemporary German philosopher Jurgen Habermas (especially his masterpiece, A Theory of Communicative Action). Habermas's ideas are notoriously difficult to explain, but I believe it is fair to say that, long before the internet became a global phenomenon, Habermas masterfully described the relationship between free public discourse, on the one hand, and systems of money and power, on the other. For Habermas, free public discourse (like Gore's speech, or the interactive nature of this blog) is sacrosanct. By its very nature, discourse is interactive, always seeking and, indeed, conferring authority on both interlocutors. As such, discourse operates as a bulwark against systems of money and power that ultimately answer to no one. Crucially, Habermas does not demonize these systems: on the contrary, he sees them as essential to the preservation of discourse! Although at first this seems absurd, consider for example the internet. To the extent it is a system, it answers to no one. On the other hand, the internet is also a fertile medium of public discourse. Gore reminds us that the internet as a medium of discourse must be preserved against systems that seek to encroach upon it and ultimately control it. But how do we preserve it? For the counterintuitive answer we must go back to Habermas: it is precisely through our use of systems, such as posting speeches and blogs on the internet (for the internet is a system), giving money to organizations like the ACLU (for money is a system), and even having public hearings on Capitol Hill (for the government is also a system). The trick, Habermas thinks, is for the public to stay one step ahead of the systems in society, so that the systems do not drown out the discourse that is the lifeblood of society. In the internet age, then, vigilence is no longer a sufficient price to pay for liberty. Rather, we must find creative ways to transform passive vigilence (or, what is the same thing, "surveillance") into purposeful action (what Habermas called "communicative action").