I want to reiterate. I am in no way suggesting that we abandon computers and the Internet, They are too useful as tools. Obviously, I am using them myself. But, we must control the technology and not allow it to control us. More specifically, we must not allow those who control the technology to control us.
Change is a Universal constant, but at an organic level, at the level of human consciousness, the pace is usually comfortable. We can adapt and, when catastrophic change occurs, we have some energy and some solid mental ground to stand on. The pace of the World has been changed and now we lurch forward at breakneck speed, hell bent for, well, for what, we don't know. This is the essence of stress and when you stress anything enough, be it a steel bar, a belief system, or a human being, it snaps. Why are things being driven this way?
Well, it all started as a push toward money and power. If you break a human, you control him and, if a few die along the way, from that point of view, no problem. There are plenty of people, plenty of customers, and, some would argue, there are too many, so losing some is a bonus. Humans placed under this sort of stress react two ways.
First, fight; rebel; and turn back things to a time when things were under control and your particular group was great. This is what we see in all of the various terrorist groups. Their ideology may be radically different, but that is unimportant. Their thrust, their goal is the same. Win or destroy everything, anything to stop what they perceive as unacceptable madness.
Nothing new there; Hitler wanted to return Germany to the glory days of per-Christian paganism (they weren't that glorious, but nostalgia for days that never were is a common emotion). When it became clear that no such thing was going to happen, he was content to see the nation destroyed rather than concede defeat. Blessedly, he did not develop atomic weapons and accurate delivery systems or we would all, now, be glowing in the dark This is what is happening with ISIL, Right now they are in their conquest phase, but soon, inevitably, for you cannot turn back time, they will see that they will not win and I will bet large sums of money (if I had them) that they will see to the ruin of the lands they claim to represent. Hopefully, we will keep devastating weapons out of their hands. And, we Americans should not be too smug. We still have a strong White Supremacy/ Christian Identity movement in this Country that is quiet now, but can grow dangerously active quickly.
ISIL and theses other groups are not, as they claim, reacting to immorality and decadence. Yes, they see this on the Internet and are revolted with it, but there is more. They are not even really reacting to the obscene discrepancy between the rich and poor. They are reacting to a World that is changing so fast that they cannot keep up, a World that seems to have no place for them. Many others are feeling the same and I wonder when the whole mess will boil over.
On a more individual level, we are replacing real interpersonal relations with virtual relationships. Email is fine for business, but what ever happened to writing notes and letters to friends and families. The act of putting pen to paper and guiding it with your hand transfers some of you to the writing. Making a phone call, using your voice, gives a part of you to the other party; texting gives them nothing but shorthand thoughts, transferred bits of cold information. Facebook allows you to claim as "friends" people with whom you have never shared a real moment of human contact.
Just recently, I saw a feature on the news about a very disturbing trend in Japan. People there have become captivated by robotic dogs. They want something fuzzy to hold and talk to, without the bother of relating to a real, living creature.
In this Country, when porn hit the Internet, it exploded. I guess it is still big; I don't keep track of such things. Why the boom? Because it gives the illusion of sex without the bother of a relationship. However, you also miss the great joys of the real relationship. Now, we have the very distasteful phenomenon of sexting; having a sexual relationship by exchanging bit of electronic data. We want relationships without the bother of people.
I am convinced that we are entering a stage of cyber-Gnosticism, a rejection of the physical world for a "purer" world of the spirit. However, a mistake has been made. Spirit is more than bits of information. The old Gnostics knew that and knew that you had to live in this world to develop spirit. We are reducing ourselves to flashing, glittering pixels that spring to life when summoned, then fade back into a dark cyber-void until again called forth.
And, all the while, those who run the Internet get rich by keeping track of everything you do on line and selling the data, or using it themselves to gear marketing toward you. That marketing is so sophisticated that it becomes almost irresistible, urging us to buy more and more crap, more and more stupid gadgets that no sane person needs and that you really cannot afford.
Here, things get interesting. When you buy things you cannot afford, you go into debt and then you are controlled. Being in debt is a form of slavery. You must do as you are told or suffer dire consequences. The folks running the Internet don't care about that, but the ones who control them, the real Powers that Be, do. They use your debt and all of that other information gathered on line to tighten the noose, to create more strain, until you finally break.
At that point, when the nooses are all nice and snug, we will be reaching the end game, and next time, we will talk about that and I will offer a suggestion or two on how to resist. All is not lost, although time may be growing short
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