every human being matters

Just like a hammer is a tool, there are many things we use in our lives that aren’t always a necessity. A hammer is just a tool that makes putting a nail into a piece of wood far easier than using a rock. A pencil generates longer lasting, yet erasable, written text on paper that is more reliable than, say, a feather sharpened and used as a quill pen.

Tools are developed to make the labor we do easier.

The same applies to our electronics and modern technologies. Their original purpose was to make complex intellectual problems less challenging. They also increased the capacity and speed of calculating queries so that more expansive scientific research could be accomplished in a shorter amount of time than manual labor.

Unfortunately, the technologies have become a two-edged sword. Once complex problems appeared simple, it was an easy transition to exchange one less precise tool for another. Slide rules were replaced by electronic calculators with greater accuracy. Space travel shifted from manual work and drafting to computer-generated designs and calculations, enabling faster, more complex solutions previously crafted by highly skilled engineers. The intellectual work of the human hand became the work of a quicker computational tool.

Has Pandora’s Box been opened?

The story of Pandora is known to many. But to explain it in simple terms for those who missed Greek mythology in school, here is a summary. Pandora was a young woman with too much curiosity. When shown a sealed box containing all the evils of the world with the caution not to open it, the desire to do the opposite took hold in her heart. So she did what every undisciplined, red blooded human being would do. She opened the box…unleashing all the evil it once contained back into the world once more.

So back to computers. What was once the use of a cerebral tool that had served to assist skilled workers has now become unleashed as a tool of distraction to the masses.

Excuses abound citing the ease of finding information (now becoming more difficult as the algorithms are continually tweaked). Some brag that the new Artificial Intelligence can not only replicate the human being exactly (minus, of course, his physiology, personality, and uniqueness), but it can create new expressions of art and other manifestations of a human mind (without realizing it can only copy existing work—merely mixing variants to seem fresh and innovative.).

Computational devices have become a tool of convenience instead of a tool to ease mental labor.

You will find far fewer people defending the purchase and use of a hammer for everything than the number of people who use their pocket computers and accompanying apps, to justify their little devices as some sort of “just in case” or for any benefit. It has become a kind of security blanket for many.

In the words of Cal Newport in his book, “Deep Work”, he identifies the mindset of the people who use justification for the use of an app or device in the following way:

“You’re justified in using a network tool if you can identify ANY possible benefit to its use, or ANYTHING you might possible miss out on if you don’t use it.”

But what is the downstream affect of this dependence?

When the electricity went out for a week in one wealthy suburb of Atlanta many years ago, the people in the neighborhood were angry. There were so many power outages caused by the tornadic storms that it took time before the crews were able to even reach that neighborhood. Instead of appreciating all their hard labor, they were booed at and spit on for “taking too long”.

Why? They didn’t like to be inconvenienced. They were forced to rely on simple, pre-electrical implements such as candles and fireplaces. They wanted their Internet and complained of boredom. Life beyond their four walls in the more natural setting was unthinkable, and they took out their anger on the very people sent to help them restore their precious power supply.

Yet we have forgotten how recent this invention of electricity even is. Having access to such energy in the majority of households and all the paraphernalia now attached to it came about only in the 1940’s – less than 100 years ago. Prior to that, kerosene and candles for lighting, open windows for cooling, fireplaces for heating spaces, and horses for transportation were common. Refrigeration or air conditioning, sealed “energy efficient” buildings, and automobiles with nicely paved roads didn’t exist.

Pollution was low, and nearly everything created was actually able to be recycled. Consumerism hadn’t taken hold until around 1957, and no one felt like they lived in lack. No plastics, no computers or cell phones, no accumulation of cheap fast-food meal toys or constantly out-dated gadgetry were chucked in the landfills. Even clothing was mostly made by hand and lasted until either the child outgrew the apparels or the fabric could no longer be mended. Fast fashion wasn’t even a twinkle in most designer’s eyes. Life was sometimes physically and mentally tough, but the supportive community bonded residents together. In the country, one-room schoolhouses laid the educational foundation for today’s modern systems.

Since the advent of computers, humanity has shifted from survival to seeking comfort and convenience. Our culture’s emphasis on individualism has led many to turn inward, creating a void in their innate nature. The concept of community has been lost among those fixated on messaging and social media, resulting in the illusion of genuine human connection that lacks the essential element of face-to-face interaction.

Can we reverse this trend?

Not entirely. Our culture is now too ingrained and dependent on these technological advancements. To renounce them outright would be devastating on the whole.

We can, however, reduce our personal device use, but it takes discipline to break old habits. The question is whether we truly want to let go of convenience. The only way to find out is to challenge ourselves and see how attached we really are.

Start small. Designate one day a week to turn off all devices. Switching to phone calls and necessary texts only is challenging, especially since we’ve grown accustomed to sharing silly images, GIFs, and other clutter.

Even accumulating photos has become easier. We no longer depend on film and manual cameras; instead, we snap countless images on our phones, stored in cloud systems we rarely revisit. Can you find that one special photo from five years ago? Do you even look at them anymore?

Unlike old communication options, we no longer think about the cost of developing and physically sharing the copy of a photo with friends and family, sending a hand-written letter instead of a text or email, writing heartfelt notes in birthday or Christmas cards instead of mass producing lengthy annual life summaries, or even try to find time to catch up with loved ones by voice or visitation. This has unintentionally isolated us, confining us to our homes and craving real human contact.

Have we become lonely enough to start having a conversation with a computer program…and calling it our best friend?

Modern man perceives reality through a counterfeit lens, where death, torture, and violence are confined to Hollywood films and cartoonish war games. He no longer knows how to confront the true reality of losing someone to death.

Programs are now able to compile all information about the deceased—voice snippets, conversations, and responses—to create a digital personification. Those who cling to these moments live in a Matrix where the boundary between life and death disappears.

It is artificial. The connection between the deceased and the living is part of an awareness innate in the human soul. This knowledge of another realm appears across many religious traditions—from witchcraft and Buddhism to Judaeo-Christianity and Islam. But without belief in an afterlife, why not manufacture an imitation of that deep-seated belief?

But we also long for connection between the living. The western concept of individualism has created a world of self-dependency for many. Without personal interaction with others, man cannot fully share his deepest longing and feelings to anyone else through electronic communications.

How many times have you personally texted or emailed someone only to find they took your message wrong? Did you discover that you were suddenly cancelled because of something you typed, but was interpreted differently than intended?

That is because those nuanced facial and bodily expressions convey far more than simple words. And computer models cannot pick up on those subtleties. This leaves the person on the receiving end unable to interpret intent within any electronic messages because they are not there.

So where are we headed with all of this?

As much as possible, I have faith in the resilience of the human race. We have survived countless expressions of our own hubris and self-centered, power hungry leaders throughout our history on this planet. When something comes against the community, we, by nature, rally to overcome our differences to unite against that common antagonist. And when the need arises, the majority of people see fit to share their provisions to help those who have lost everything.

When the electricity goes out and computers go dark, no matter how dependent we have become on them, there will be those who will vanquish that darkness with the light of life through the community.

And those who refuse to participate will perish.

History continues to repeat itself, embodying humanity’s rise through invention and power, only to be humbled by the unforeseen. To move forward, we must learn from the past and carry that knowledge to the finish line.

Learn to let go of conveniences. Devices are tools, not lifelines. They help us navigate the artificial complexities of our culture, not replace real living.

It’s up to each of us to live simply and use tools for their intended purpose—to ease our existence and labor in life; not to try to make sense of the mysteries of life and the hereafter through our own interpretations. Specious inventions only serve to confuse the human mind, and make those who embrace them make easy prey for the ones who seek to control their lives.