Dr. Emilio Bombay's essay "Would You View This with Your Mother?" focuses on the observation that nothing we do on the Internet is done in private. He adds that, although content we view on the Internet is protected under the First Amendment, if we are somehow caught in violation of any local ordinances, we are subject to any penalties our local authorities choose to pursue (210). Bombay also says that our own computers may give our secrets away, what with downloaded images saved in our hard-drive caches, and the ubiquitous eye of the government watching every move we make online (210).

The first reaction I had upon reading this piece was a feeling that Bombay is embellishing the truth a bit. Although I don't doubt that the government has the means to track our online activities, it is a stretch for me to believe that spying on the Internet is a priority for our government. While I can see how local ordinances can extend to what we view online, I think that law enforcement as a whole has more to do with its time than track our online activities. If local ordinance prohibits viewing pornographic material, and John Doe just happens to look at some dirty pictures while he does his work, I don't think that the local police should make it a priority to pick him up and throw him in jail.

I also felt a bit of anger rise up when I read this essay. Once again, while I can see how lawmakers feel it is their duty to patrol anything that goes on within their local ordinances, I am appalled at the thought that anyone could be tracing my own actions, on my own personal computer, in my own house. My feeling could come in part from the fact that I know I am not viewing anything that could be remotely unlawful. I don't think that citizens who would normally be free from government scrutiny should be picked up and prosecuted for what they view in the privacy of their own homes.

Bombay, Emilio. "Would You View This With Your Mother?" CyberReader. Ed. Victor J. Vitanza. 2nd ed. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1999. 210-211.

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