The US Government is plowing straight ahead with something they call net neutrality. What it is and what it means varies from person to person. What it’s about is one thing: Control.

I don’t know anyone who is unhappy with the Internet. Sure, they bitch. They gripe about speed or that some web site may be down. Maybe there was a missed email. But for Things That Cause Stress In Your Life, the Internet doesn’t even make the list.

For pretty much everyone, the Internet is a blessing. It’s not horrendously expensive. It’s quick. It’s reliable. It’s vast and full of fun.

Lamentably, whiners in the government don’t think so.

There aren’t any high-priority Internet issues. There is no overt crime or immorality. It’s not a pressing issue like jobs, border security, government debt, or wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. Nope, there is no large community of individuals petitioning the government to come in and save us from the evil Internet. Instead, it’s partisan whiners.

My friends on the left say that it’s those right-wing extremists. They want to control everything.

My friends on the right say that it’s those left-wing extremists. They want to control everything.

They’re both correct.

Extremists are no good, and our culture is full of them.

Historically, partisan politics has always been nasty. Even the level of rude behavior these days doesn’t rise to the depths plumbed back when Hamilton and Jefferson where going at it.

As I see it, the problem is that things are really good these days. Even with the crummy economy, life isn’t the arduous labor it was 100 or even 50 years ago.

Another thing that’s changed is our ability to freely hate people.

Disliking someone is part of human nature. Back in the old days, it was easy (but wrong) to dislike someone and pin it on some physical attribute: Their race, color, religion, heritage, size, and so on. Today that kind of hate is taboo, even illegal.

Even so, it’s perfectly acceptable to hate someone because they’re a g.d. Republican — or equally hate someone because they’re a g.d. Democrat. That’s often encouraged.

The problem with that approach is that it’s benefiting no one. Hate for hate’s sake is simply the sign of a small mind. Yet, as a culture we are so caught up in partisan hate that we’re willing to destroy something good like the Internet just to score petty political brownie points.

In the end, the Internet will be regulated. You will need a government license to put your web site on the Internet. (Not to publish the site, but to transmit it using the Internet.) You will need to ensure that your web site is fair, and offers a balanced political opinion.

Who determines what balance is? Why those same left- and right-wing extremists. Lucky us.

This will not end well.