What do you think?George Carlin wrote:Nobody questions things in this country anymore. Why? People are way too fat and happy. People are way too prosperous for their own good. Everyone's got a cell phone that will make pancakes and rub their balls now--so, nobody wants to rock the boat. Americans have been bought-off and silenced by gizmos and toys, and as a result, no one has ever learned to question things.
I think the Carlin quote can apply to the entire process of industrialization, and I see technology as an extension of industry. I think humanity is addicted to it. I believe our instinctive desires now work against us as a result of our ability to easily indulge them.
For example, we no longer have to fight so hard to feed ourselves, but we still have the instincts of a creature who does have to try hard to get enough to eat, so we overeat.
Industrialization and technology make it easier to indulge and control our environment. That has made our instincts outdated. We have become the slaves of industry and technology. I think that's what Thoreau meant when he said, "Men have become the tools of their tools."
What's the solution? To find the solution, I say look into other simpler examples of addiction and overindulgence, such as overeating or cocaine addiction. How do overeaters and cocaine addicts beat their addiction and stop being a slave to their addiction or tendency to overindulge? Basically, I think it is mostly self-control and finding more valuable ways to spend their time--much harder than it sounds.
Materialism and technologicalization can be beaten just as alcoholism can. And that analogy let's me also point out that I am not saying that we need to completely get rid of technology or industry all-together, just as I would not say we need to completely get rid of alcohol all-together. It's materialism and alcoholism that I think are the problem. It's superficiality, addiction, overindulgence and short-sightedness that we need to overcome.
What do you think?