Gods Among Us?

Just after submitting my last post here, a friend forwarded this video to me. The technology is very remarkable, and what is shown here is quite amazing! However, it also scares me a little bit. I'll explain why after the video.



So what do you think? Very cool? Very strange? Are you a little scared like me? I don't know what your thoughts are, but I think this could be too much power for mankind. Though the limits of the device aren't specified, it clearly has the potential to bring a seemingly unlimited amount of knowledge to the individual. Could we become gods of information? And amidst all this knowledge, is there any wisdom?

Tim Higley

The Future Has Arrived

"There's a great big beautiful tomorrow
Shining at the end of every day
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow
And tomorrow is just a dream away!"

Such are the words sung throughout Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress, a lasting tribute to the technologies borne out of man's efforts throughout the 20th century. Rotating around the unique theater, the audience follows an American family as they progress through the years and highlight the brand new inventions of each era. Each slow rotation brought the audience to a younger era in which life was a little simpler and easier thanks to the latest technology.

The show captured Walt's enthusiasm for tomorrow perfectly. He was a firm believer in progress, that is, the development of new technologies and ideas. He also recognized the sorry state of our world and believed that progress was the key to making the world a better place to live. With this dream in mind, Walt foresaw an advanced world, unified in peace. Had he lived a bit longer, he would have been able to complete his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, or Epcot for short, an experimental city that would have served as the testing ground of new ideas for better societies.

So what exactly was Walt's vision for tomorrow? Better, easier lifestyles so mankind can slow down and enjoy himself more as well as the company of others. In the Carousel of Progress, the Mother of the family makes this evident throughout the different periods. When we first see her at the turn of the century, she is doing the laundry, a task that used to take two days but is now reduced to but five hours thanks to her new "wash day marvel". As progress moves on, however, exhausting chores such as this are reduced greatly by the new technologies being created every day. By the time we reached the 1940's, Mother has much more time free from chores and is able to perform extracurricular tasks around the house, such as creating a "rumpus room" for Father. Finally in the present day she is free from all work and joins Father at last to showcase progress in the modern age. Technology has made her life much easier and much more relaxed so now she has time for the things she enjoys doing.


Progress has moved on since Walt's day, and there is no doubt that mankind has an even easier, more relaxed lifestyle today. Digital technology has done for us what electricity did for the inhabitants of the early 20th century, and thanks to computers and the Internet we now have easy access to unlimited resources. We can quickly look up a piece of information thanks to Google, chat with friends whenever and wherever via Facebook, and order almost anything we need or want through Amazon.com. These tasks have never been easier than they are today. An easier lifestyle? Certainly. A better world? I'm not so sure.

Part of Walt's vision for tomorrow was world peace and unity. Not only did he hope man would have more time to enjoy himself but also to enjoy others. Where was Mother when she was finally free of all work? Right next to Father. Yet more and more progress seems to be encouraging us to do the opposite. Digital technology helped things move a lot more quickly partly by removing the middle man. You don't need to go to a library and deal with a librarian any more. You just need access to Google. The technology that has made our lives easier so we have more time with others has merely made us more alone, though we are all somehow more unified through the world wide web.

Is this a problem? You betcha! Humans aren't made to function alone. We all need the companionship of others in order to survive emotionally. Yet this companionship is becoming less and less practical every day, and in a world that's moving more and more quickly, anything that's not as practical as the next thing is quickly cut. Rest assured the human race will survive for a long time in the midst of digital technology, but it may not continue as we once knew it. In the absence of companionship, the human heart grows colder and colder. Slowly we will turn into nothing more than robots of flesh and blood, living lives of utter practicality with little emotion and little sensation. And thus will begin the end of the world.

"It's better for you
and it's better for me
It's better than everyone thought it would be
The future has arrived."

Tim Higley

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T.H. Excellence

Do we get charged less now that we live in a triple?

Problemo Numero Uno: We named him.
Issue The Second: He insists on free passage between our room and the outside.
Thirdly: We are allergic to him.
The Fourth (aha!): He sleeps in a basket that once held our crocheting, therefore displacing a heap of yarny goods.
The Fifth Element: His right hind leg is curled protectively against his belly at all times, resulting in a pathetic hobble and an inability to jump.
Six: He needs a bath.
Seventh Dilemma: He probably has fleas.
Number Eight: He sounds like he has a respiratory issue-- at the very least, he has a very silly purr.
Problem Nine: He is not litter-box trained.
Ten: We are going to keep him.

Fred Baby is curled up in a basket behind me as I write this, snoring away between a blanket and a pair of sweatpants. He is the poorest old slob with a name that I ever did see-- and he decided last night that he wanted to live with Sharon and me. And since he literally hasn't left my sight in ten hours, I think the ten reasons can be overlooked for now.

An interesting thought experiment.

It's basically an online test to see whether or not your conception of God logically consistent. It's just an online game, so take it with a grain of salt, but it makes some interesting philosophical points:

http://www.philosophersnet.com/games/god.htm

Innocence Lost

Slowly...slowly...back...forth...breeze in wisps from the North. Whispers, lies, if only, if only, lullabies cry as she rocks slowly.

In an heirloom southern rocker she pushes off of creaking, splintered wood panels. A splinter grovels its way through her soft, fleshy small toe, but she pushes through. Gritting her teeth, salt springs ooze salt tears over salty cheeks. How can I remove the splinter in my toe when thousands puncture my soul. That's what it feels like, ya know. Suddenly I can't breath, I panic, how did she go?

The breeze becomes a torrent tossing her thin, matted hair around her face. It frames a portrait of weeping shame. Thoughts of "if only" are tossed in her ear. Her mind drinks in and becomes intoxicated with the condemnation. If only I had spent more time. If only I had slowed down. If only I hadn't worried. If only I had said no to things that didn't matter. If only I had lived what I knew was best, not what other people told me. If only, if only.

The hurricane of emotion slowly whisks away. The corn fields rising over hills in the distance show promising heads ripe and full. I want to destroy them. I want others to know the pain of losing the fruit of their labor. Who knows what I feel if not when they experience it themselves? No one can tell me move on, no one can tell me let go until they know.

She pushes back slowly and stares through a hole in the roof. It was going to be fixed before...But now it will stay broken. For some reason it was right, though. She could see clouds pass quietly. It was her own small world to enjoy. Everything else overwhelmed. But not that small piece of heaven. Staring up she felt her world slowly re-arrange. She even sighed in wonder and prayed.

God, Father, I did what You wanted, I did what You said. I wanted to do it right, so I asked others and followed examples. I wanted everything perfect so I worked and fought laziness. I tried everything, but in doing so I stopped hearing Your voice. I tried to listen, but I was so busy with trying to follow You I did not allow time for hearing. I did a lot, I tried to follow, but in the end it really was for naught. You've taken something from me that I thought was mine to hold, to cherish, to love like You loved me. For some reason You did not think that was good and right. In the beginning, I thought you were wrong. I wept and yelled. I thought, because I had not heard Your voice, that You wanted to punish me. You scared me. Your punishment scared me. I am still silently fearful, but I know and read that You bless those who wrestle with You. Right now, I don't fell like a winning Jacob, I feel more like an exiled Esau. Bring me back and help me be content with what you have for me. Prepare me to walk in joy again. I let your peace rule in my heart this moment, continue plying me in the furnace of hardship. And when my faith fails catch me up before I burn.

She had to start small. That piece of sky made all the difference. She could handle small pieces of sky. She could stare at her feet, then her hands, then the steps, the walk, the fence. But she could not see them all at once, that was too much. She lifted herself off of the rocker. Shuffled in to the kitchen, past the greasy pans, the uneaten spaghetti. She looked at the laminate, square upon square, looked at the corner of the wall, okay, good, just make it to the bedroom and try to make the bed. In looking at small things, her eyes lit upon the one thing she had tried to avoid. The small, wooden, high chair sat empty. She cried out slowly, moaning, bending to push away the throbbing stomach.

God, this hurts too much. Memory is pain. What do I do, take it out and forget? Or keep it and torture myself every time I want a glass of water. "There is a time for everything"

I heard, I heard!

Slowly, she set the high chair outside on the step, closed the door and made again the trek. She still weeps for baby Innocence once in a while, but she listens to her Father and follows through the fire.

As times of suffering come and go in your life may you ever cling to God, even when He doesn't make sense, when He puts you through test upon test. He loves you. He wants you to have the victory. Remember that he put Jacob's hip out of joint to remind Him that the battle truly is the LORD's. He causes the waves to rise and fall. May You allow Him to mold You this semester.

A Perspective On What May Come

As you of the world know, today has brought us our forty-fourth President. He has offered hope to millions of Americans, has appeared willing to work across party lines, and possibly has one of the most difficult challenges in history facing him.

He follows a man who, though successful in many areas, let America down in many ways. Former President Bush has guided us through the wars in Iraq and Afganistan in a capable manner, but has dissapointed the people in his approach to other issues like immigration and the economy. Much of what he had promised to do he never did, or simply did poorly. This is not to say that I'm surprised! As I have heard said, "Politicians rarely believe what they say, and are surprised when anyone else does." I think Bush has actually been one of our more honorable leaders, and do not believe that we made a mistake by electing him; however, what he promised and what he delivered left too much of a gap.

Enter Mr. Obama, the man of change. To be honest, he frightened me more than Senator Clinton during the election process. I have no doubt that much of what he said during his campaign was carefully worded to soften his agenda. He is not a moderate, and the fact that he presents himself as one does not encourage me. But as I watched his inauguration this morning, I found myself hoping that I will be proved wrong about him.

He addressed the threat of terrorism, telling our nation's enemies that he knows they're out there, and will not be cowed by them. [Me: huzzah!] He called upon God for his administration, both by choosing Warren and Lowery for the invocation and benediction, and by crediting Him as the source of our life and rights in his speech. He commented on our economic problems, our educational problems, and our environmental problems - his solutions may not be exactly what we of the conservative side want, but he has promised to do something about it.

He made a lot of promises. That really gets down to my main point: will he keep his promises? As a politician, he likely said some of those words simply to get votes. But another part of me thinks that he may actually keep his word. That, in itself, creates two reactions in me.

First, I am concerned that he will do all he has promised. Those changes will make the government larger and more powerful in many ways, limit freeom in the economy, and increase our tax bills. He will nationalize things that are privatized, such as health care. The environment will likely get more attention than the plight of unborn children. In short, America could be well on its way to becoming an actual socialist state.

My second reaction is this: I hope he will do all he has promised. America is in desperate need of a leader of integrity - a man who, to quote a great poet, "meant what he said, and said what he meant, [a man who is] faithful one hundred percent." We the people are sick and tired of men and women who tell us what we want to hear and have no intention of following through. If he keeps his word to the public, and proves himself just and honorable, then God will have a clearer way to work His will through our President.

Now, that's not to say that I do not hope for a shift in his ideals while he is in office... He is the man of change, isn't he?