We are now reading Rebels Against the Future and it has so far been my favorite book we have read. It tells the tale of the Luddites, a group of weavers who destroyed weaving machinery because the large factories being created left and right were taking away their jobs and their livelihoods. We couldn't have started reading the book at a more opportune time. Have you ever felt that a series of events combine gracefully to teach you some sort of profound lesson? Well it certainly feels that way to me.
We have been doing class presentations these past two weeks on the latest and greatest (or not so great) technologies of the modern age. We have covered gene therapy, bionic eyes, tidal power, hybrid cars, and cryogenics. Each discussion we have had has themes that are pervasive; our impact on our environment, our dependence on our technologies, our increasing ability to alter the very fabric of biology and nature, most of the time for the worse. We are painfully dependent on our fossil fuels; our discussion on hybrid cars left us all seriously doubtful of a car-free society and our ability to seriously alter our lifestyles.
We have been learning so much about how technology has improved life for the better; the ability to synthesize Nitrogen from its elements has allows millions of more people to be fed. And yet, as we have begun this new book, and even before, we have all been getting the sneaking suspicion that we do not have the freedom we thought we did. I read the Introduction of the book and got the chills: ithrough the words of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein talking to the scientist, "You are my creator, but I am your master." We are controlled and surrounded by the machines of everyday life, and their affect is profound and unnerving.
No example of this dependence is more poignant than what as been on the recent news. As if a sign from the heavens, Eyjafjallajokull blew ash into the sky and shut down the airline industry for 6 or more days in Europe. Chaos reigned as thousands of people became backlogged in cities all around the world. The volcano affected crop sales in Kenya, where bananas withered without European banana lovers to consume them. The airline industry lost millions of dollars a day as people clammored to find other ways home. But through all the chaos, people learned something. A man who lives miles away from the Charles de Gaulle airport in France noticed how calm and peaceful his nights were without the sound of jet engines. People were forced to find new ways to travel, and inadvertently made friends with those who were also on cross country odesseys. The beauty of the European countryside was no doubt introduced to people, and its vastness, as women and men drove hundreds of miles to pick up stranded husbands, friends, family.
I have become more and more aware of the way I am trapped within the big machine. Though I wasnt trapped anywhere per se, I had to cancel my trip to Paris. Instead, I stayed here and typed on my computer, a device I am practically glued to a lot of the time. Even though I interact face to face with my study group buddies all the time, I spend hours gchatting them even though they are a five minute walk away. It seems as if the real world is falling away and my life is being reduced to my facebook profile, my email account, and this blog. No wonder I feel the intense need to get out into the woods every weekend. It is weird how we can go an entire week here without havinh human interaction if you so chose. The professors lecture with a microphone and a powerpoint. You turn in assigments into a red box, with your ID number attached to it. Vending machines give you food, ATMs give you money, weird check out machines take your money so you can take your groceries.
I am also reading a book called Blessed Unrest, which is quickly becoming my favorite book. It basically outlines why the environmentalist movement is the same as the social justice movement and is the same as the Luddite movement that I am now reading about for class. As Technology progresses, machines begin to control us; we are slaves to factories, we must keep things running because if we dont, everything will collapse, or so we think. And yet, what has technology really done for us? Yes, modern medicine has done wonders for the sick and suffering, but unemployment is the highest it has ever been. Is it really progress if no one is working and everyone is feeling as though they have a no place in the world, no purpose?
I don think its a coincidence that I feel the most complete, calm, and in control when I am in the great outdoors. It is where we are meant to be, and we are quickly trashing our environment to feed the Big Machine. I dont mean to make a political statement or anything like that with this entry, its just interesting to think about. I feel that I have been woken up from being stuck in the Matrix or something, its a bit weird.
No comments:
Post a Comment