today we celebrate the 41st anniversary of the GNU operating system, that set out to develop an operating system that wouldn't deprive its users of freedom
but there's another 41st anniversary to celebrate today: that of the free software movement, the organized effort for the recognition of an essential human right, namely, that we should be entitled to understand and to modify the programs we use to do our computing just as we are entitled to freedom of thought and of expression; that we should be entitled to share and cooperate on those programs just as we are entitled to freedom of the press and of assembly; that we should be entitled, thus, to control our computing, instead of the alternative of being controlled by it; that programs that suppress or attempt to suppress these essential rights shouldn't exist, so that no users were ever tempted or forced to give up their essential freedoms and rights, and so that the cyberspace and all the users and developers could be free
we've come a long way in these 41 years, but we still have a long way to go. please join us and support our movement, our project, and the organizations that support them in the pursuit of these goals