The Beeb has a terribly interesting back-and-forth between two very powerful people who are fighting to control (or remove control from) your digital future.

John Perry Barlow, former lyricist for the Grateful Dead and founder of the user rights watchdog Electronic Frontier Foundation squares off with Dan Glickman, former Congressman turned U.S. Secretary of Agriculture turned MPAA president.

These are men who are working to lead us into the next stage, struggling to define the framework within which we will exist as a digital content consuming society. Battling for a future riddled with, or removed from, digital rights management, litigation and the pitfalls of monopoly control.

"These are aging industries run by aging men, and they're up against 17-year-olds who have turned themselves into electronic Hezbollah because they resent the content industry for its proprietary practices. And I don't have a question about who's going to win that one eventually." says Barlow of the MPAA.

I'm afraid I can't share Barlow's optimism. While the EFF and the "electronic Hezbollah" have won several notable victories along the way, the fight is far from over and it seems that where it counts most, in the halls of Congress, the MPAA and RIAA are winning on a regular basis.

With all due respect to John Perry Barlow, the biggest risk the EFF faces, as it becomes an established and vital part of the discourse surrounding personal rights in the digital age, is to be forced to the fringes by outrageous, headline grabbing language like the above. A phrase like "Electronic Hezbollah" creates an image for Americans, an image of impudent fringe groups unable to join a productive discourse and pushed to radical, sometimes violent, means to convey their message.

We can do so much better. We are not the Electronic Hezbollah, Mr. Barlow. We are pioneers, philosophers and the generation that will define the line between corporate interests and consumer rights for a very long time to come. Much more akin to the founding fathers of the land we love than the radical terrorists of Hezbollah.

I understand fully the need to use strong language to make points, attract attention and get the message out. I do sincerely hope though, that our dear John pays attention to the fine line between language that gets noticed, and language that removes you from the debate.