“Breathe the air we give, the life we live…” - Rise Against
Human beings were meant to be outside. Why are you not outside right now? Why are you reading this blog? It’s because your computer has become your best friend and your best access to the outside world.
You don’t realize it, but your computer is closer to you than your boyfriend or girlfriend; closer to you than your best friend. You spend your time speaking to these people through this box. If the box links you to those people then are you not technically the box’s friend? I once heard from a college professor who did way too many drugs when he was younger that there are four stages in the history of man. I’ve tried to subsequently research these four stages, however, I’ve been unable to find his exact rendition of it, so I’ll just say that this is my expanded interpretation of his interpretation of a Hindu myth while he was high. In the beginning men spoke with gods, as the gods disappeared men spoke with other men, as men began to hate other men men spoke with the animals, and as men destroyed the animals men were left with nothing to speak to but the rocks. Is this machine little more than a fancy, somewhat magical, modern marvel that has taken rocks and made them do amazing things? My interpretation of rocks in this case includes metals as well, though I am aware that scientifically they are very different. For the sake of argument you are communicating with an innovative rock. Sure, your best friend does so much more than a rock, but at a surface level both do about the same amount of movement and thinking on their own.
This box though is so much more precious than a stone. Do you not ask this box for advice? Is it not your guru? Google has replaced spiritual leaders. While once people went to another person for advice we now ask Google! “Why does my head spin when I get up too fast?” “How do I know if someone is cheating on me?” “How do I make General Tso’s Generally Awesome Chicken?” “How do I say hello in the ancient language of Jesus?” “Why does God hate me?” “How did we win World War II?” Go ask your doctor, your friend, your local Chinese Restaurateur, the nearest Aramaic scholar, a priest of some kind (ANY KIND, most have a God), and finally your uncle, your real uncle, not the one who comes over and makes you sit on his lap though you’re already 25. These actually all sound like awesome stories to tell if you actually went out and inquired into them! This empty box with a flashing | straight | line | is stealing your life experiences from you. The | flashing | line | waits | to | enlighten | you | | | |. Why search the world and see it at the same time when you can just click away? Why communicate with anyone when your box has all the answers contained somewhere in it? This box runs deep indeed, because it’s answers and suggestions are nearly endless.
In some cases this box is not just a friend and a spiritual guide, but a substitute lover. There is an insidious underbelly lurking behind every Google query. Just type in the word “junk” and see what comes up. Hell, type in the word “nun” and see how holy your search can really become if you don’t have a search filter on. Let’s be honest. How many of you seek companionship through this box? Facebook gives us plenty of people to look at. We peer at their lives, we comment on their photos, and we secretly harbor affections for them. Look at Myspace, which has become Yourspace really, because my actual space becomes invaded once a you from out there decides to send an oddly worded and somehow explicit link to my otherwise chill my-message-box. The fun doesn’t stop there either. How many of you pollute your minds with pornography that degrades women and promotes surgically enhanced and airbrushed standards of beauty? I for one am among the guilty. I once filled my head with unrealistic fantasies that objectified the other half of my species. I understand we are sensual beings, but at what cost? It took a strong, opinionated woman to help me see how wrong it could really be; to see how one innocent video cost somebody their dignity, or influenced someone else to exploit him or herself. I am not criticizing those of you that indulge in this world or work in this world, but I will say that there is a hidden cost to it. Just like any other thing we indulge in, like this box.
You’ve been reading for about five to ten minutes now. Is your box heating up? Is your box making that whirring noise it makes? Have you clicked away from this urgent message to read someone else’s urgent message? Are you communicating with your box or me right now? I’d like to believe I’m communicating with you, whoever you are in the Whoville of life within this box. However, the truth is nobody might ever get a chance to read this because Pandora’s Box runs deep and is filled with endless horrors. So, in essence, I’ve just spent an hour of my life communicating with my box. Perhaps the metaphor of Pandora’s Box bears more weight than I’m currently giving it, simply because in the myth there is something besides horror in the box, there is hope. I hope you in Whoville have read this message. I hope you in Whoville realize that this box, as cool as it is sometimes, is stopping us from breathing the air of our lives. Take a deep breath and a step back through the stages. Commune with animal, then commune with man, then commune with the gods, whoever they may be for you. Your rock is a dead weight hanging from a chain over your left shoulder.
Human beings were meant to be outside. Why are you not outside right now? Why are you reading this blog? It’s because your computer has become your best friend and your best access to the outside world.
You don’t realize it, but your computer is closer to you than your boyfriend or girlfriend; closer to you than your best friend. You spend your time speaking to these people through this box. If the box links you to those people then are you not technically the box’s friend? I once heard from a college professor who did way too many drugs when he was younger that there are four stages in the history of man. I’ve tried to subsequently research these four stages, however, I’ve been unable to find his exact rendition of it, so I’ll just say that this is my expanded interpretation of his interpretation of a Hindu myth while he was high. In the beginning men spoke with gods, as the gods disappeared men spoke with other men, as men began to hate other men men spoke with the animals, and as men destroyed the animals men were left with nothing to speak to but the rocks. Is this machine little more than a fancy, somewhat magical, modern marvel that has taken rocks and made them do amazing things? My interpretation of rocks in this case includes metals as well, though I am aware that scientifically they are very different. For the sake of argument you are communicating with an innovative rock. Sure, your best friend does so much more than a rock, but at a surface level both do about the same amount of movement and thinking on their own.
This box though is so much more precious than a stone. Do you not ask this box for advice? Is it not your guru? Google has replaced spiritual leaders. While once people went to another person for advice we now ask Google! “Why does my head spin when I get up too fast?” “How do I know if someone is cheating on me?” “How do I make General Tso’s Generally Awesome Chicken?” “How do I say hello in the ancient language of Jesus?” “Why does God hate me?” “How did we win World War II?” Go ask your doctor, your friend, your local Chinese Restaurateur, the nearest Aramaic scholar, a priest of some kind (ANY KIND, most have a God), and finally your uncle, your real uncle, not the one who comes over and makes you sit on his lap though you’re already 25. These actually all sound like awesome stories to tell if you actually went out and inquired into them! This empty box with a flashing | straight | line | is stealing your life experiences from you. The | flashing | line | waits | to | enlighten | you | | | |. Why search the world and see it at the same time when you can just click away? Why communicate with anyone when your box has all the answers contained somewhere in it? This box runs deep indeed, because it’s answers and suggestions are nearly endless.
In some cases this box is not just a friend and a spiritual guide, but a substitute lover. There is an insidious underbelly lurking behind every Google query. Just type in the word “junk” and see what comes up. Hell, type in the word “nun” and see how holy your search can really become if you don’t have a search filter on. Let’s be honest. How many of you seek companionship through this box? Facebook gives us plenty of people to look at. We peer at their lives, we comment on their photos, and we secretly harbor affections for them. Look at Myspace, which has become Yourspace really, because my actual space becomes invaded once a you from out there decides to send an oddly worded and somehow explicit link to my otherwise chill my-message-box. The fun doesn’t stop there either. How many of you pollute your minds with pornography that degrades women and promotes surgically enhanced and airbrushed standards of beauty? I for one am among the guilty. I once filled my head with unrealistic fantasies that objectified the other half of my species. I understand we are sensual beings, but at what cost? It took a strong, opinionated woman to help me see how wrong it could really be; to see how one innocent video cost somebody their dignity, or influenced someone else to exploit him or herself. I am not criticizing those of you that indulge in this world or work in this world, but I will say that there is a hidden cost to it. Just like any other thing we indulge in, like this box.
You’ve been reading for about five to ten minutes now. Is your box heating up? Is your box making that whirring noise it makes? Have you clicked away from this urgent message to read someone else’s urgent message? Are you communicating with your box or me right now? I’d like to believe I’m communicating with you, whoever you are in the Whoville of life within this box. However, the truth is nobody might ever get a chance to read this because Pandora’s Box runs deep and is filled with endless horrors. So, in essence, I’ve just spent an hour of my life communicating with my box. Perhaps the metaphor of Pandora’s Box bears more weight than I’m currently giving it, simply because in the myth there is something besides horror in the box, there is hope. I hope you in Whoville have read this message. I hope you in Whoville realize that this box, as cool as it is sometimes, is stopping us from breathing the air of our lives. Take a deep breath and a step back through the stages. Commune with animal, then commune with man, then commune with the gods, whoever they may be for you. Your rock is a dead weight hanging from a chain over your left shoulder.
Yes I'm connected to this box right now, but so are you. These thoughts make sense and I'm sure tons of people would agree with them, but they're only thoughts and are only turned into actions by the daring. The people who aren't afraid to give up technology for a more spiritual, non-invasive life. I mean, with the gov't monitoring everything we do on the internet, it seems better to give up a life under surveillance, in exchange for social unity and exploration. Yet we see those people and call them hippies. Meh, I enjoy the ease that technology has done for us (as I'm sure many people do as well). Yet I often feel that people abuse these advances. They were made so that our lives would be easier, but we shouldn't be wholly dependent on them. Remember the Y2K scare? When will we learn?
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