This is a short thought spurned from an interesting conversation with Dave Loyd...
Alfred P. Nobel was famous before he was famous.
We primarily know of Alfred today by the award named after him- an award, recently made famous to Americans, which was given to much maligned and celebrated figure, President Barack Obama. This award is 'usually' given to recipients based on multiple fields of study and research, yet always under the guise of the promotion of peace. But, as irony would have it, the highest award of peace is named after the inventor of dynamite, a creation that would take the life of many 20th century soldiers and citizens.
Irony is a funny fellow and the purest form of comedy indeed.
Like the infamous League of Nations in its beleaguered attempt to eradicate war only to lead to the largest, catastrophic war to date (WW2) OR the discovery of nuclear fusion leading to the capacity to eliminate humanity from the face of the earth, irony often smiles on the face of fortune and the best intentions.
Dynamite was the single greatest factor of American westward expansion, but try singing its praises in the trenches of World War One. Historical accounts record that Alfred Nobel was so disgusted with the application of his invention that it spurred him to create his now infamous award.
Peace... Peace... But there is no Peace.
Today, like never before, the world community is in the business of proclaiming peace. And why shouldn't they? The consensus would argue that their is no redeeming quality for war and that its promulgators like Edward Lutwak 'Give War a Chance' are tyrannical and heartless. The global community, not to mention the global economy, is built on ideal of peace.
How are we to succeed where all others failed? The answer is a resounding scream that echoes through every avenue of electronic media: technology and communication.
Technology can only go so far... before the robots rise up against us
The internet + social networking = the marriage made in media heaven. Peace at last.
I realize the irony of lambasting technology by using the same technology, but did i not say irony is a funny fellow? When in Rome...
The Twitter Bomb that fell on America
When I first heard of the social networking website called Twitter, my initial reaction was 'How ridiculous!' Now, admittedly, I use it multiple times daily but at first the idea of a site based on your current status alone seem worthless at best, vain and narcissistic at worst. Little did we know then, just a few short months ago how twitter would change the landscape of worldwide communication and politics.
Twitter soon became so much more than a mere status update... it became a multimedia tool that development into a mini-blog news magnet. Twitter can go where a media van and Ron Burgundy could only dream about, evidence so aptly in the recent Iranian election. Major news corporations, like CNN, have moved quickly to incorporate these positive aspects of twitter and facebook into their productions.
It seems I was wrong about Twitter being worthless... or was I? It seems were have nothing to fear now that the dawn of high tech communication age is upon us... do we?
We have nothing to fear but ourselves
With the advent of information, one would think the human race to be gaining knowledge and getting smarter. Not true argues Mark Bauerlein- in fact just the opposite. Studies routinely prove that school test scores are down globally while, access to global media and the Internet increase exponentially. People are still learning... it is what they are learning that matters most. People are still communicating, but it is what they are communicating that will tell whether Twitter and other technology will be a catalyst of expansion or be the demise of our civilization.
Psychologist and sociologist are starting to catch on to a trend which reveals a lack of civic duty among the youth of today (Americans are Bowling Alone) and the promotion of self satisfaction through all avenues of social media. In short, few can name their congressman, but a plurality can identify current celebrity relationship status.
We will live and die not by the invention of technology, but by how we use it and apply it to our lives. Twitter and sites like it could be the invention that allows us to expand and explore the depths of communication and resources as never before, or it can be the bomb that destroys the will, dreams, and aspirations of human ingenuity through amusement and entertainment.
You'll know when Conservatives get up in arms because the latest Democratic President gets awarded the Biz Stone (founder of Twitter) Knowledge Prize.
Then again... what do I know? Tweet me your ideas.
The three books that shaped the proceeding opinion most heavily -I recommend them all!
1- The Dumbest Generation
2- Generation Me
3- Amusing Ourselves to Death
No comments:
Post a Comment