Time for a reality check Source: Kujichagulia
Digital watch and phone
Are we behind the times or ahead of the curve? According to a 2010 study conducted by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “South Korea ranked 1st in reading, 1st in Mathematics, and 3rd in science, while Japan ranked 5th in reading, 4th in Mathematics, and 2nd in science. During this same year, the USA ranked 14th in reading, 25th in Mathematics, and 17th in science.” Studies show that many Americans can’t locate the United States on a global map and many children don’t even know what an atlas is. Standard English has been retired. LOL! I mean it’s like … and he was like … and I was like … and u r like … it’s like all good … like u-know? On the other hand, statistics reveal extensive knowledge of pop and paparazzi culture, movies, designer labels, pharmaceuticals, social networking, war, super comic-book heroes, vampires, avatars, and so on.
People are being reared by virtual parents; immediate gratification is sought through instant messaging; we stay socially connected through cybernetic umbilical cords; we are literally plugged into computer-generated reality through smart phones encoded to respond to our every whim. Google searches override the need for personal research; self-driving vehicles control our transportation; automated home entertainment/security systems control our surroundings; monitoring mechanisms are obediently accessed, attached and/or implanted to display and convey every personal function and private profile; universal remotes and robotics eliminate the need to do anything. Are we being culturally baptized, emotionally branded and/or economically bullied into a comfortable state of over-priced and over-rated virtual denial?
We con$ume technology and it consumes our lives. It’s just too convenient to relinquish self-reliance and submit to the program. Surrender to digital innovation or invasion? Reality check! Is it entertainment or containment; is it choice or compliance; requested or required? Just how much physical energy and brain capacity idly await instructions from preprogrammed operating systems? Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week … are we “in control” or “being controlled” within a globally positioned and patrolled society? Meanwhile, are we keeping check on the production and proliferation of species-dominant machines programmed with enough artificial intelligence to render the entire human race obsolete?
There are infinite capabilities and opportunities - positive, neutral and negative. Yes, it’s critical to become tech savvy and knowledgeable on current trends, however not at the expense of humanity. Wisdom, ethics, honor, integrity, art, music, dance, freedom, peace, and spirituality are just as essential as science, technology, and engineering. Let’s put humanism back in style! Given the debatable premise that the human species, homo sapien sapien, utilizes only 10% of its cognitive brain capacity, just imagine humankind operating at maximum mental proficiency. At 100% cerebral efficiency: we could build pyramids again; we could levitate rather than depend upon elevators; we could astral-project rather than rely upon airplanes; we could use mental telepathy rather than beepers, phones and tablets. Operating at 100% intellectual capacity, humankind could eliminate the arrogant ignorance of social injustice (classism, sexism, racism, ageism, able-ism, homophobia, greed, et cetera). As humane beings we could dedicate 100% of our purpose to respecting Mother Nature as well as all living beings. Just imagine.
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