Start: Monday 10th
End: Tuesday 11th
My world without technology:
When faced with the idea of giving up all technology for a day, it seems like an easy task. But, its always easier said than done, as with many other things. Though, my inclination has always been towards limited use of technology, coming to college has made me dependent on it fully.This assignment wasn't exactly Walden pond, but it did help me personally to clear my head of all the stresses that accompany technology.
I was able to get out of town for a day and go up to visit a few friends at FSU. There we spent the entire day just walking around campus, talking about my second favorite thing: art history. But it wasn't simply the much needed conversation that I enjoyed, but the lack of phone calls asking me to pick up something on the way to class, or texts asking me questions that I didn't know the answer to in the first place. My day without technology was more than a day. It was a breath of fresh air.
I remember as a child, being able to lay out in the front yard and watch the clouds go by, thinking about anything and everything. That was my one day. Among the Platonic and Socratic arguments, the admiring of the beautiful architecture, and taking time to enjoy lunch with friends, were the reminders of how fast paced our lives really are with technology at hand. Our dependence on technology is a bad thing in my opinion; but then again, ive always wished to live in the 18th century. Our education has been transformed by the technology that we are forced to work with, and so will our society be changed by it. The faster the technology improves, the less time we will spend staring at the clouds, wondering where they will be tomorrow.
That is the value of a technology deficient world: happiness in simplicity.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The Problem.
War.
It is a simple, unique, and completely undefinable term that impacts our lives everyday. Whether it is a "war on terror", Russians invading South Osetia, or simply african tribal warfare, it all effects the world around us. In africa there has been a war going on for 23 years; an unceasing onslaught of kidnappings and violence in Northern Uganda especially. Here, though the situation has improved politically, the social structures for the next generation is still in ruins. Invisible Children, a non-profit organization, has led the way to finding a solution to this by investing in the education of the younger gnerations now. They have rebuilt schools, spent time and money in the largest book drive ever attempted, and continue to send their "troops" of students to raise awareness all over the world. They shed light on the devestation that is still taking place long after the LRA has left the region. But despite the fact that the LRA, who has beem mostly responsible for capturing innocent children and turning them into ruthless child soldiers, has gone from Uganda, they have spread their terror to Sudan and other regions of Africa, putting an even larger group of people in jeapordy.
The issue of "Africa" is not new. AIDS and illness has been sweeping the continent for years. But it is finally this group of teens from california who founded Invisible Children, that are making a difference in some lives. Their goal is not simply to rebuild schools, but to bring back a culture and a people that have been so long plagued by war and illness. To bring them supplies that they need to live healthier lives, and to keep in touch with the friends that they make along the way.
This is an organization and a cause to live for.
It is a simple, unique, and completely undefinable term that impacts our lives everyday. Whether it is a "war on terror", Russians invading South Osetia, or simply african tribal warfare, it all effects the world around us. In africa there has been a war going on for 23 years; an unceasing onslaught of kidnappings and violence in Northern Uganda especially. Here, though the situation has improved politically, the social structures for the next generation is still in ruins. Invisible Children, a non-profit organization, has led the way to finding a solution to this by investing in the education of the younger gnerations now. They have rebuilt schools, spent time and money in the largest book drive ever attempted, and continue to send their "troops" of students to raise awareness all over the world. They shed light on the devestation that is still taking place long after the LRA has left the region. But despite the fact that the LRA, who has beem mostly responsible for capturing innocent children and turning them into ruthless child soldiers, has gone from Uganda, they have spread their terror to Sudan and other regions of Africa, putting an even larger group of people in jeapordy.
The issue of "Africa" is not new. AIDS and illness has been sweeping the continent for years. But it is finally this group of teens from california who founded Invisible Children, that are making a difference in some lives. Their goal is not simply to rebuild schools, but to bring back a culture and a people that have been so long plagued by war and illness. To bring them supplies that they need to live healthier lives, and to keep in touch with the friends that they make along the way.
This is an organization and a cause to live for.
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