Lynn Ruth Miller on what happens when technology takes over

Use Your Hands

The world is filled with unhappy people, and I believe that is because we no longer experience the joy of doing things for ourselves. Think of it. We don’t use our hands the way we used to any more. There was a time when we used them to open a door, turn on a faucet or dry our hair. Now, the only thing we use them for is to roll a joint or prove a point. Flushing a toilet once demanded a hands-on effort. Now, it is a one finger operation and often, it involves simply standing up after the job is done.

I am so old I remember when we brushed our teeth with great vigour using our muscles (no batteries!). We dried ourselves with a towel and we got down on our hands and knees to wash the floor. We used a scythe to cut the grass and experienced the bliss of being in the glorious outdoors with the sun on our backs, and our arms swinging to the rhythm of our hearts.

We no longer need to use our fingers to type a message, much less actually pen a note to a loved one or the milkman. He, too, is only a memory. He has been replaced by a refrigerated case at the supermarket. When we want to know how to get from here to there, we simply speak our request into our electronic devices, and technology responds.

“What does this loss of control do to the human psyche?”

Now, we no longer have to drive our cars and that is a terrible loss. Google has taken away the joy of the open road, windows open, top down, accelerator slammed to the floor. Remember the sense of freedom, the power? Oh, the sheer exhilaration of flying down the highway, traffic whizzing past you and all of life awaiting at your destination.

Sure, we won’t have as many crashes. Far fewer people will be mutilated or murdered on the road. But is it worth the sacrifice of the joy of connecting with the immense force of your vehicle, knowing you alone are its master?

And what does this loss of control do to the human psyche? We no longer feel in control of our destinies. When doors open with a sensory device and cars take us to our destination by a route of their own choosing, we no longer can steer our unique course through our individual lives. What has happened to the sense of self we once had when we swept the floor with a broom, and decided for ourselves if that dust bunny deserved to be dismissed to the dust bin?

I laud progress and respect technology, but if I have the choice I would rather use the force of my will to guide me through my life. When I malfunction, I can change direction… but when technology fails, the car stalls, the dishwasher floods and I get a concussion speeding through a closed door.

“Independence is happiness.” – Susan B. Anthony