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Dangerous Dependence
General Omar N. Bradley, who played a major role in World War II, once observed that "[i]f we continue to develop our technology without wisdom or prudence, our servant may prove to be our executioner” (Quoteworld.org). This ominous prediction, however doomsday it may sound, is well on its way to becoming truth. Americans as a whole are too dependent on technology and such dependence is dangerous.
Perhaps the most recent indication that Americans are asking too much from technology is the Blackout of 2003, so designated by our country’s news anchors. On Thursday, August 14, some 50 million citizens were left literally “in the dark” from Detroit to New York City in biggest and longest blackout in American history. Remarkably, mass panic and rioting did not occur even in New York. Officials actually remarked that the arrest rate was lower that night than average (Adler). What did happen more than usual were calls to the fire department to put out fires; “a number of which were caused by New Yorkers’ unfamiliarity with the technology of candles” (Adler). As humorous as it is, it also shows the serious consequence of over familiarity with too much technology. Have we “progressed” so far that lighting a match becomes as wondrous as it might have been to ancient people who accidentally caused a spark to set wood on fire? Fires were not the only trouble that night; hundreds of people were locked out of hotels for over a day because the doors’ dependence on electric keys; many people could not buy basic necessities because they usually used credit cards which no longer worked due to the power outage; many of the elderly who depend on electric to pump oxygen or to power other medical necessities had to go to hospitals whose generators were, mercifully, functional.
The danger, however, was and is far beyond a simple inconvenience. All of America learned a lesson on September 11, 2001: the enemy can attack almost without warning. If nearly three thousand lives were lost on that day, how many more could have been lost during the Blackout had the Enemy chosen to strike? The thought is not pleasant.
The Oscar-winning movie The Matrix offers a futuristic view of what could happen should humans become too dependent on technology. Perhaps it is most apparent when Morpheus tells Neo how the machines took over Earth and instituted “a neural-interactive simulation” that gives the movie its title (“Theory”). The thought that machines could overwhelm and enslave the human race might be too “sci-fi” for some people to believe but in the wake of Blackout we would do well not to be so smug.
Technology has, in many ways, enhanced the quality of life for humans. The good side should not overshadow the darker side, however. The dangerous addiction Americans currently have to technology might be our downfall so remember the Blackout and, with proper supervision, learn how to light a match.
Works Cited
Quoteworld.org. QuoteWorld. 13 September 2003. http://www.quoteworld.org/
Adler, Jerry. “The Day the Lights Went Out.” Newsweek at MSNBC.com. 13 September 2003.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/953580.asp
Theory of Knowledge: Philosophical Issues in The Matrix. Princeton University. 13 September
2003. http://www.princeton.edu/~jimpryor/courses/epist/notes/matrix.html
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