Opinion | Three Modern Miracles, Ruined
Three Modern Miracles, Ruined
©2021 by Vernon Miles Kerr and VernonMilesKerr.com
Are most people kind and unselfish? One really begins to question that, after seeing three, totally miraculous, and potentially positive forces for humanity’s advancement be ruined — almost to the point of being unusable.
Alexander Graham Bell might be turning in his grave if he knew “the telephone” had become something that injects dread into the souls of people who own one: every time it rings, it’s … “This is the Visa MasterCard Department, we have important information about your account…” or “We’ve left numerous messages about your car warranty…”
For a while, one could ignore the wired telephone and feel comfortable answering the wireless, but no more. Even that clever invention has been made a burden by callers (both robo and real) who even know how to hack its display by mimicking your local area code, and even your local three-number prefix.
The 2nd of humanity’s three ruined miracles is the Internet itself. What was touted to be, and for a while WAS, a fabulous way for the world to freely share knowledge — and indeed, Academia initially used it as such — has become more a vehicle for controlling the user, pinning them down while political agendas and product promotions jump around the edges of content, and even on top of content. Information which was once free was soon available only behind pay-walls and mandatory subscription forms (many of which will not go away, unless you agree to subscribe or completely shut down your browser.
For a few years, much knowledge was freely exchanged, but It didn’t take long for the Internet to become the knowledge-highway of unfettered greed and selfishness —useful only to users who have learned clever hacks themselves, in order to avoid the constant onslaught of bullying by promoters.
The 3rd, and by no means, least tragic usurpation of what should be a blessing to humanity is — democracy. Democracy should be defined as, “rule by the folk of the land, via representation in the capitals of government, by local, honest compatriots, who are motivated only by the best interests of their constituents.” Instead, what so many call “democracy” has turned into little-more than an opportunity for those representatives to gain fame and wealth, by selling their influence to the highest bidder.
These three modern miracles aren’t the only ones perverted to the use of the greedy, they’re just the ones most familiar to us by our being continually and unmercifully assaulted by them. How can we say “most people are good,” when knowing it takes a tidal-wave of evil people to so effectively dominate and destroy the potential of three things so promising.
But, down here at ground-level, you and I interact with kind, unselfish people every day. We know they exist. The just simply have no voice. We need a new miracle, a means by which the “good people” can communicate and collaborate, without the influence of commerce or politics. It should be a truly public forum, managed by private individuals without an ax to grind, nor a product to sell. But who has the money to support something like that, without some expectation of reimbursement? Government. They have it, but those who run government right now, have a completely different set of priorities.
Good people unite!