June 24, 2013 (Monday)
Travelers on Southwest Airlines were stranded over the weekend when 64 flights were suddenly canceled. Everything was prepared for successful flights: passengers paid up and ready to fly, planes filled with all necessary fuel and supplies ready to take off, families, friends and businesses all ready to hear from the arrivals of contact persons, etc. etc. But no, the flights were canceled. To be fair 64 flights is less than 2% of total flights in a day for Southwest, but significant if you are the one grounded.
The reason? Separate news accounts blame “computer glitch” and “computer outage.” One great advantage of the computer age is the provision of an electronic scapegoat when human beings mess up. Computers are not smart enough to make mistakes–they always do what they are told to do. Even when they fail, it’s probable that they warned the users in direct or subtle ways, but warnings were not understood or heeded by humans. Of course, the possibility of “meanies” online who spread viruses just for the fun of it, is always present. There again the problem is a human one (and should be a capital offense).
Blame the computer–one of our favorite ploys to excuse our own human failures. Hey, does my blaming everyone but myself sound like a familiar modus operandi? It should, because the habit is as old as the Garden of Eden, when Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent.
No matter. Computers are here to stay. “Glitches” and “outages” will also hang around. Are they our slaves or are we theirs?
Devotional Thought: “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save” (Psalms 146:3 NIv). Taking responsibility for our own decisions is a giant leap forward toward maturity. Let’s try not to make excuses, but if all else fails, let’s remember our old Ace in the hole, “Computer Glitch.”