Dear MWS,
A good piece though i wish it elaborates deeper some of the points.
Mr Hoyle's feeling of our attitudes not keeping pace with technological advancement is poignant seeing that the very technologies that help create the modern civilisation could have the potential to destroy it.
Sometimes, when i went shopping with my wife, i can't help noticing that most of the high-tech stuff on display are only to make our already conforming lives easier than it already is. Most do nothing that increase the quality of our lives. What if i have the latest LED HDTV. i would be lying if i say i don't feel happy when i get these things; i do.
From the trivial 'electronic cigarettes' to the deadly weaponry we make to destroy each other. It is our collective attitudes that created those technological advancement that does not help people. While overlooking technologies that could eliminate poverty, cure diseases, make health care and houses affordable to all. Technologies that does not divide people into classes based on race or religion but make people come together based on our common virtues and goodness.
Which brings to the second point mentioned in the article- few children these days "have the imagination to consider their own future world." i suspect that the 'kids' mentioned by Hoyle lived in a big city, with affluent parents possibly. With technologies almost reaching its zenith, these rich kids could have almost anything and are probably enjoying life.
So, are there children who dream of a better, future world? i think there are. Many of them. Only they are not the typical children that i know of. They lived not in affluent, developed countries. They dream of a better world for all from their homes amidst the cries of hunger and suffering.
From my humble everyday observation, rich people only think of how to get richer. While the middle-class thinks of getting rich. How could their children imagine as to their future beyond getting the latest I-pad while chatting with their friends about how cool it is to have one? A modern, consumerist lifestyle could only breed more of the same.
Which brings me back to reality. The reality that those working with me in the office are the same. We look at the same clock. We probably think about the same things most of the day- what to eat for lunch; what to say to make our boss happy; after work, what to eat for dinner, what entertainment to get after dinner and so on. And it's no wonder my soul feels dead sometimes. For I have become an automaton too.
*Please leave a comment to share your thoughts. Readers are most welcome to send me articles or their own write-ups and you can send them to mwsmithunplugged@gmail.com
Thanks!
Chrono13 then just find a worthy cause and join the good fight!