We live in an era of unprecedented technological advancements. When we moved here in 1994 we didn’t have any kind of phone for four years. Now almost everyone we know here has cell phones, which is good…families can communicate, work places can call when a staff member doesn’t show up, and family members in other countries can call their loved ones.* I am a little intimated by all the technology around but I do not yearn for the “good old” days when everyone just had a land line and there were no microchips. I love being in touch with my family anytime I want through email and the “magic” phone that operates through internet. I do not want to return to air letters that take a month to get back to family and friends. But….
There are many times that I feel that instead of technology enhancing our humanity, it is becoming our god.
We work more hours to have what we feel we MUST have in the newest, the fastest, the most memory. We stay plugged in…or text non-stop with our “friends” on Facebook, My Space or just the phone. We seem obsessed as a Developed World society.
But are we losing ourselves? Do we avoid the pain through typing insignificant froo frah constantly and never look up from the screen to see the people around you? Technology has given us a way to block the people around us on the subways, the sidewalks, and even our home. We do not have to see the homeless if we are texting. We do not have to hear the cries of sadness of the broken hearted when we have constant music in our ears. We do not have to interact with our loved ones if we just text a phrase every two minutes. We do not have to see the poor.
We need to stop…unplug…become that person that was created to interact with others, help others, and love others. After all, can you see Moses facing Yahweh with an iPod plugged in, or Jesus texting “brb” to his followers before going to the wilderness, or even Thoreau taking a walk through the woods on a Wii? -- Kathleen
*Cell phones here can receive calls even if there is no time on it. You can put as little as $1 on your phone.
**Note: In the photo volunteer Tyson is just pretending to talk on his cell phone while picking coffee up at El Porvenir, although his phone did have coverage up there!
