Politics as Open Source

In a previous incarnation as a techie and teacher of tech, I encountered and became enthralled by a type of software called open source.

Open source software consists of computer programs developed by multiple independent entities working both in collaboration and in competition.   This category of magnificent products includes:

• Linux
• Apache
• MySQL
• PHP

Linux is an operating system.  That means it does all the grunt work of a computer - input, output, file management, data manipulation, and networking.  Apache deals with networking too.  It's a web server application; think of it as a waiter in a restaurant.  The meals the restaurant offers are analogous to web sites.  But without the waiter AKA web server, you'd never be able to get anything to eat.

MySQL and PHP also contribute to networking.  MySQL is an RDBMS that often supports web-based applications - everything from student transcripts to credit card records.  PHP  is a programming language very widely used to provide web pages with true interactivity.

Even more intriguing to me in the context of networking and the Internet is an application called Snort.  Snort is an intrusion detection system.  That means that not only does Snort know if someone is trying to break into your bailiwick, it can provide information on such attempts - information detailed enough to be used in court as evidence.

Snort is a superb piece of software.  But that's not what first attracted me to it.  Rather, Snort caught my eye because it's typical of open source.  It was created and is maintained simply for the love of the idea.  And, like so much of open source, Snort has a sense of humor.  Here's a look at its mascot.

What in the heck does any of that have to do with politics?  Perhaps it's prejudice on my part.  But I see a clear parallel between the idealism of folks like Linus Torvalds, Monty Widenius, and Brian Behlendorf, who seek to improve the world through software, and their doppelgangers like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, who try to accomplish the same through government.

Needless to say, Donald Trump exists in a very negative alternate reality ...