James Leroy Wilson's one-man magazine.

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Why Donate?

Why should you support Independent Country?

Maybe you came here through random blogsurfing, or because of a link. You may hate everything you've seen here and think,

Why support this Wilson guy? It will only encourage him.

Exactly. It will only encourage me.

I believe in freedom. But I also believe in free stuff. Music ought to be free. Discoveries and inventions ought to be free for the public to use. Books, articles, and essays ought to be free.

I say, let's get rid of patents and copyrights! Technology is for the people. Art is for the people. Literature is for the people. Yes, there are costs in how the content is delivered. The paper that books are printed on isn't free. The packaging of CD's isn't free. But the content itself, ought to be free.

The Internet makes this possible. You can look, listen, and learn to your heart's content. And governments can not control it, no matter what trade treaties say about "intellectual property."

Think. No newspapers to recycle. No wondering if those old magazine issues in the attic are worth something. Content produced on-line doesn't clutter your life.

My attitude is, people shouldn't pay for the content. Instead, if people like a novel, they should pay the author to write another one. They should pay the singer to record the next album. They should financially support the artists and writers they enjoy.

And their favorite bloggers, too. If you like what I'm doing here at Independent Country, your donation will encourage me to spend more time here. I will then provide even more opinion, analysis, and interesting links. I will also have the time and resources to add new features.

And the money you donate will go to me. Not to the mega-corporations who publish the books and columns of your favorite writers and grab most of the profits.

And the best part is, you pay what you feel this content is worth to you, not what I think it's worth.

To donate on-line, just click the "Make A Donation" button to the right. You may e-mail me at jim102670@yahoo.com to inform me of any problems with your on-line donation, or to request my postal address if you prefer to mail a check.

If your donation is tax-deductible, well, frankly, I'd be shocked. I'm making no such claim.

Thank you very much for your support.

Life, liberty, happiness,

James Leroy Wilson