I find it amusing sometimes to step back and consider the world in which we live. We have this incredible technology available to us that I could only imagine as a young child--and I am only 41! We have the ability right here right now for a writer from the United States to instant message another writer from India or Thailand and chat like we were sharing a beer at a pub. We live in countries that are either now or are starting to see technology and information and thoughts and ideas become available to the most basic unit in a country: the average citizen on the street.

Granted, we still have a long ways to go in many areas what with there being such a huge gap between the haves and the have-nots and the daily drive for recognition of even the most basic human rights for some people. Yet, that story amazes me because I have the ability to hear about all of it from the people who live it as a reality without having to be filtered through different governments, media sources, and corporate special-interest groups. It is truly beautiful.

With so many stories to read about and write about, there are those who take the low road through this existence. These particular people will ignore any thought of doing something original with this wonderful technology and resort to the lowest of the petty crimes known to man: they will steal.

Now, I know what some of you may be thinking. That it's okay because "no one gets hurt". That it's okay because "those people make millions of dollars so they won't miss anything".

Let me ask you this. If you head out of the house to run a few errands and find that someone "visited" your house while you were gone and helped themselves to a few valuables, would you be mad? Of course. You'd feel violated. You'd feel cheated. You would probably even contact the local police. So, what makes it okay in your mind to do the same thing to another person?

There's a little lesson about karma in all of this because you may believe that a little cutting and pasting of someone else's work product is okay because you got away with it once or twice or many times. But, you are not so bloody clever. Googling articles works both ways and you may find yourself feeling the repercussions of your stealing.

Yes, there are many beautiful and amazing things about communication at the speed of a mouse click. Let us strive to do unto other writers as we would like to have done unto ourselves and have everyone be able to revel in that beauty.