November 10, 2015 (Tuesday)
You can find a preliminary first draft copy of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address on the Internet. It’s very interesting to see on paper the development of that masterpiece of literature. Sadly, the computer age has, for many, ended the era of “first draft” copies on paper. We delete and add to our copy on the computer screen and the final result is all most people will ever see.
Technology has changed our world.
Perhaps the worst impact has been in the realm of time management. Many adults who were raised on video games, texting, email, twitter, etc. are living in a world without exposure to beautiful sunsets, towering trees, singing birds, boisterous seashore waves, gritty sand on the feet, experiencing the exhilaration of a stiff breeze, the thrill of a long hike through God’s natural world, etc. etc.
Along with the many benefits of modern tech wonders, there are the conspicuous absences of many experiences associated with doing things the old-fashioned way. You could probably name many things like that.
It’s not unusual to walk into a room filled with people, each of whom is totally silent, busily moving their fingers across a small key board on their smart phones, texting others, and sometimes those “others” are sitting in the same room. Isn’t there something wrong with that picture?
I remember a joke I heard years ago, in which a guy says, “As I was saying to my wife the other night–you know how it is when the T.V. goes out..” Of course, he never got a chance to tell what he said to her because the audience was already laughing, the point made that normal conversation is rare when people are slaves to the picture box.
I don’t usually advise people on how to live their lives. Just one word of advice: “Don’t forget to live your life.” That’s me talking to myself–I’m just letting you listen in.