Technology

Let me tell you something.  I HATE technology.

That's right.  As I sit here, writing on a laptop, smartphone beside me, drinking a coffee from a Kuerig, I'm telling you, I hate technology.

I'm not saying it isn't without its benefits.  I can keep in touch with family and friends from great distances.  I can listen to my beloved Red Sox on my MLB app without being in the New England area.  I can get instant news updates, and as a news junkie, that's kind of important.

But here's some of my problems with it:

Lack of human contact.  Everything we do, is now done over the internet.  Problem with your pay at work?  Go online, find the "Pay and Benefits" link.  Want a pizza?  Order online.  You can even apply for credit online!  Tell me that's not a little scary from a security stand point.  When I'm buying auto insurance, I want a representative to explain things to me, not read through ten pages of legalize to determine the policy suited to me.

Technological glitches.  How often do you just want to do something quickly, and there is a server error?  The web page you are trying to access is temporarily unavailable?  Even when these crappy Chinese made machines work, the websites themselves are often confusing. You should see the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources website.  They used to supply easy to understand hunting and fishing guides.  Now, in and effort to go paperless, it's all online.  I need a computer programmer and a lawyer present, (via Skype, obviously), to determine the daily catch limit of perch. 

 P
eople's addiction to these gadgets is a big problem.  Everyone you talk to mentions how annoying it is to see a table full of people at a restaurant, all ignoring each other, while tending to their smartphones.  Yet we see it every time we go out.  My middle aged school kid has enlightened me to how devastating the effects of this crap truly is on young minds.  Many of his friends don't go outside.  We've just started getting nice weather after a long and brutal winter.  I heard one of his friends asking him, (over Skype, obviously), why he wasn't online playing MindCraft all weekend.   You know why kid?  Because it's frigging nice outside!  Open your curtains, take a look out the window.  That is the outdoors!  There are many opportunities for fun, competition, exercise, relaxation, and education out there!  It's an amazing place.  Leave your phone behind, please.

The last thing I want to mention, is the "I'm always right problem".  Have you noticed a bigger divide in society?  Left vs Right?  Agnostic vs Atheist?  Blue Jay Fans vs the World?  Nobody is willing to rationally discuss anything.  There is ONE view point.  Their own viewpoint.  If you don't agree, you are an idiot.  I blame this on technology.  When is the last time you had a conversation that raised a question, and someone didn't pull out a smartphone, or computer to look up the answer?  What year did Princess Dianna die?  You're probably looking it up now.  We can't just discuss it, possibly disagree, and let it go.  Someone HAS to be right.  Problem being, when you get to the much bigger problems, each side can go online and dig up hundreds of websites, studies and articles "proving" they are right.  Until we re-learn how to openly discuss issues, this rift in society will only deepen.

In closing, enjoy your technology and the advantages it brings.  But don't forget to shut it down once in a while.  Enjoy a meal with your family without interruptions.  Go for a hike with a topographical map and a compass, leave the GPS at home.  Tell your kids to go out and play an unorganized game of basketball.  Keep in mind, we are organic creatures that survived this long without YouTube!

EJ

What's Wrong With People?

From Road rage, to school shootings, there is something going on in society that would be unfathomable to my grandparents.  We've come a long way!

I can't claim to be an expert, but as an observant person by nature, I can point out some changes in the 40 years I've been on the planet that may be contributing factors. 

Two generations ago, the majority of people in this country would define themselves as Christian.  But now, we've replaced our faith in God, with a faith in science. I have many atheist or agnostic friends.  They claim there is no proof of a supreme being.  Science is the only evidence they can see.  They put full faith in theories that can be tested.  There is no proof of God, so how can I believe this "fairy tale?"  The religion of science certainly offers some answers, but it also creates a void. Science doesn't give them every answer they seek. 

The theory of this being one big cosmic accident is implausible to me.  A big bang caused a perfectly aligned universe?  A life sustaining sun at the perfect distance from a perfectly angled planet with precisely the right atmosphere to evolve a living organism of inexplicable origin into what we've become today?  But here's my big question.  How did the human race "evolve" morals?  Science would dictate that our soul purpose of living is survival of our species.  Some animals will fight to the death, or eat their own young.  All without remorse.  A human soul and conscience differentiate us from animals. If science were the only answer,  our species, and our society would be very different.  The current disconnect from all things spiritual is proving that!

If science is our current dogma, materialism is its premiere rite.  The human body is composed of a handful of elements.  When we die, according to this, we decompose.  Our lives, no matter how long or productive, are meaningless.  Well aged fertilizer.  What's the point then?  Enjoy your life while you're on this planet. It's all you get!  Get as much stuff as you can!  "Wait," my atheist friends say, "I'm a good and moral person.  I'm not materialistic!"  Of course not.  There is some residual good left from our Judeo-Christian foundations.  If things have fallen this fast from our turning  backs on religion, imagine life for our grand children!  Who could blame them?  We are teaching children that since there is nothing else, no one to answer to, that morality and the greater good plays a lesser role than individuality and self gratification.

I'm not trying to convert anyone.  We live in a free country, (sort of, but I'll discuss that in another post).  The God I believe in gave you free choice.  Believe, or don't.  My God also commands that I not judge.  We are all sinners, and He alone can judge.  However, don't be alarmed by society going to "hell in a hand-basket!"

"But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve.  Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates?  Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord."  Joshua 24:15

EJ

About "From Right Field"

I'm starting a blog.

 My rants on Facebook have become long, and I'm sure, annoying to some.  I don't intend to be annoying.  I simply mean to make my point heard.  What seemingly feels like a lone voice singing a different song than everyone else in the crowd.

 

What does "From Right Field" mean? First of all, it's in reference to baseball.  The first thing in my life I was truly passionate about. No, I didn't play right field, but if you know me, you know my views are somewhere right of center.   While most of my acquaintances proudly and boldly play the left side of the field, I stay in right, patiently waiting for my turn to be heard, like an impatient little leaguer waiting for a hit to come his way!

I will write about anything that I please.  Politics, religion, the general state of society, or a great play I saw during last night's game.  Feel free to read it, or don't.  Agree, or disagree.  I don't care.  I have thick skin.  I do hope that some of my opinions, minimally, spark thought and perhaps fruitful dialogue.

Please remember, agree or disagree, but please be respectful of each others opinion.

EJ

PS, I promise to try and figure out why this font size keeps changing without my input, and correct it!