Those of us under the age of 18 are the last truly unrepresented and powerless group in American society. Those under 18 cannot vote and they cannot hold any political office. Politicians listen only to votes. If a group of people have no votes, they are not represented in American government.

      If an unconstitutional curfew is passed against teenagers, the legislators don't have to worry about the reprisal of young voters. People under 18 pay taxes, are American citizens, and they can be drafted to fight in a war, but they cannot vote or do anything which the government decides they cannot do.

      The free speech groups took the easy way out during the battle over the Communications Decency Act. They proposed to censor the most disenfranchised group of people in this country in order to protect their own freedoms.

      This easy way out was the support of blocking software. Like the V-Chip, blocking software is simply another way for parents to pass the buck onto the government.

      Unfortunately, this is all too easy for parents to do in our society. Parents now insist that values are taught to children in public schools as well as mathematics and reading. Now these same people want the government to enter the home and raise children there.

      Parents who want this are not only deceiving themselves, but they are losing their right to raise their own children. Instead of using blocking software, parents should be discussing the Internet with their children.

      They should be discussing and debating these issues with their children instead of taking the easy and dangerous way out. Blocking software not only blocks things nearly everyone agrees should not be blocked, but it is also unconstitutional in public schools and libraries.

      One excellent danger of blocking software can be seen in America Online's Parental Controls. These controls block Amazon.com, an Internet bookstore, because Barnes and Noble is a content partner of America Online. This is a primary example of blocking software at its worst.

      In addition, any site which presents an ideology differing with those held by mainstream society or even just the company that produces the software is blocked. This is all done under the thin guise of "protecting" children.

      It is apparent to me that the only thing that those under the age of 18 need to be protected from is the protectors. Parents should be debating and discussing controversial issues with their children rather than simply isolating them from differing viewpoints.

      Otherwise, how will these children react to these issues when they become adults? If the use of blocking software becomes widespread, they will be unable to react and make decisions responsibly because they were never allowed to think and make decisions for themselves by their parents or the government.

      As Thomas Jefferson once said, "To protect the rights of good men, we must protect the rights of all men."

      Young people in this country must stand up make their government listen. They must do this before it is too late to turn back.

      Young people have the right to see differing ideologies and decide which ideology should be theirs without the interference of the government or irresponsible parents.