So, I read on /. about this guy, an Australian senatorial candidate who gets it about gaming. I quote,

"Censorship is odious because it removes community choice. Censorship says that the thought is the action; that the common person can't distinguish between depiction and actuality... Censorship says, "Let me decide who talks. And games are talking. They're talking very loudly, to a great many people, in strong and clear voices. They're speaking in places that have never read a newspaper and in houses which have never listened to politicians. It's okay to be worried by what games are saying. It's okay to disagree. But it's not okay to stifle those voices. It's not okay to kill the game."

This guy truly gets it, and I couldn't say it better myself. Furthermore, it's nice to see a gamer going political. I've long chastised gamers for not being politically involved and people have long condemned me for seeing gaming as a valid political issue, but I really believe that it is tied with the first amendment. And it's nice to see a self proclaimed gamer running for public office. Hopefully he'll set an example for other gamers who want their voices heard.

I read on slashdot a while back about a political convention on electronic media, chiefly videogames. Only one guy from the gaming industry showed up- a game journalist from some gaming website, I believe. And surprisingly enough, senators were very interested in what he had to say, and actually wanted to know more about videogames. We hear all about the Joe Liebermans and Jack Thompsons of politics, but I think most senators don't really know enough about videogames to have a valid position or feel any sort of way aside from knowing that their grandson loves Halo 3. But hopefully things will start to change with this guy.

Now, I know gaming isn't nearly as important as international issues such as the situation in the middle east or Internet Neutrality, but I will support it as a viable political issue, as there are a great number of Americans and people around the world spending many hours playing these games, and it's a multibillion dollar industry. It needs to be addressed correctly, and just like I feel senate should understand what exactly the internet is (Not a dump truck) they should know a little bit about videogames, if they are to pass legislation about them.