The Election and Technology

If you were like me, you were both horrified and mystified by your Facebook and Twitter feed Tuesday night as the world closely followed the Presidential Election.  The rhetoric and emotion I witnessed by supporters of both sides was fierce.  There were those who promised to move to Canada if Obama was elected.  I even saw a few more enlightened folks, those who realized Canada isn't a conservative playground, threaten a move to Russia or other far away places.  And there were those who were simply saddened by election results; saddened by the weakening of our morals, our values, our heritage as a free people.  There were nasty exchanges between people of opposing views.  There were flame wars that erupted at the mere mention of the words Obamacare, taxes, small business, gay marriage, or the national debt.  I don't think I need to tell you, reader, just how heated and divided we are.

Okay.  Enough about that.  This isn't a post about politics.  It's about technology.  As you might be able to predict, a good percentage of those whom I follow on Twitter and my Facebook friends are Christians.  And Christians  on both side of the political aisle had a lot to say about this election.  And it wasn't all pretty.  In fact, most of it was sort of sad.  At least, it made me sad.  It spoke of hopes erased, dashed, destroyed for one side, and hope restored and fortified for the other.  And we choose to communicate these sentiments through Facebook.  We choose to communicate these fierce emotions through social media.

I ran across an article from the New York Times this morning, and it reminded me of simpler times, where people might have sat across from those with whom they disagreed - might have had a cup of coffee and discussed important issues with serious concern for their friendship, community, and future relationships.  I wonder if all that hasn't been dissolved a bit.  What is technology doing to our civil discourse?  What is technologies role in widening the divide between right and left?

To the article, entitled, "A School Distanced From Technology Faces Its Intrusion."  Check it out.  These kids are learning something about being together, slowing down, and truly seeing the beauty of of the world God has created.  They are learning how to be in community.  They are doing this all without Facebook, texting, or other social medias.  Social media is supposed to help us to be better connected and help us share information quickly, but is it actually driving us apart as we hide behind computer screens ranting and raging, calling names and placing blame?

I'll close with a quote from the school's director, Alden Smith, and invite you to read and reflect on the article in your own time:

“The idea is not to be going back to a time where things were better,” Mr. Smith said, “but where the richness of each day is defined by the food you eat, the company you keep, the work you do.”