Piracy v Integrity

I have spent days thinking about how to write about this topic. It is at the core of what I do. Licensing software and managing those licenses is a daily consideration for the computers I work with. For the average user, it is also at the crux of what they do. Consider where piracy exists: music files, DVDs, computer / console games. I have deleted several attempts to pine about this topic, and decided that I know what the problem is: no matter how I write about it, I will appear either a hypocrite or will alienate people.
The fact is, we don't like to think about piracy much. It slows us down in our entertainment. People just copy products without thinking seriously about what is at stake. Sure, there is a danger of getting caught, busted, fined, and/or jailed (see RIAA, too). The greatest loss, however, is not what the law of the land threatens. The biggest hit comes to one's integrity. The strange thing about integrity is that people don't often realize they have lost or damaged it. Perhaps this goes back to the God v Man post at it's lowest level.
The apostle Paul in the Bible once said "All things are possible, not all things are profitable". I am a computer guy by profession, and know where to get almost anything in digital entertainment that you could want. Just because I can does not mean that I should go get it. I attend parties where geeks gather and game together. We play tactical computer games against each other for hours, eat good food, and stay up all night. At these events, I see recorded CDs get passed around with varying content. If someone comes to the party without owning the games that we play, they can easily get a copy of the game from someone. Me? I just don't play the game. If I own it, I play it. If I don't own it, I don't play it. At this moment, my computer and everything on it is 100% legitimate. I own no pirated software, music, or video. I am in the process of learning more about the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) so I can be in line with US law, but I find it difficult to understand entirely. The fact that the law has a hard time catching up with technology (it takes 2 years to get a big case to court, but computers double in speed in that time) makes it difficult to stay in line. Ignorance of the law is no excuse, but the complexity of tech law coupled with the bliss of that ignorance makes for a lot of sacrificed integrity.

Things to ask yourself when managing your media and copying practices:
+ Are you coming up with rationalizations why you can share software, video, or music?
+ Do rationalizations trump the law?
+ Do disagreements with the law allow a citizen freedom from the law?
+ Is it ok to duplicate software, music, or movies for others?
+ Does the cost of software, music, or movies change the right to make copies for others?
+ Is public uploading/downloading of software, music, or movies is ok?
+ Do I have the right to decide how the property of others is handled?

If you answer "yes" to ANY of the above questions, then you are a pirate! For some it is obvious, for some it is not. Some choose to operate against the law, and others just don't realize what piracy means. Either way, the law is broken. I have a softer spot for those who don't know, and get angered now by those who do. I have helped many people out at their homes with their computers, only to find that one of their teenagers has installed a pirated copy of Windows on their PC. Rarely is there a sense of urgency to remedy the problem.
I am not perfect in this gambit; I get tempted by it all the time. I am choosing to make a concerted effort to learn what the law means, and how it is changing. I already have my Christian values which show me in the Bible the obvious nature of the heart and how others should be treated. I know my personal responsibility there, which stems from an absolute truth of how the property of others should be regarded. I challenge anyone to look at their collections and move to a better way. If not for the law, for your own enjoyment of knowing that your integrity is worth more than a $50 game, a $15 DVD, or a $1 mp3.

I hope that you care.