Technology Is Good ... But It's Not God

Some friends recently spent an evening touting technology as the answer to changing the now-pandemic cultural decline that faces our world. Considering the fact that greed and selfishness, dishonesty and a lack of integrity, even simple civility, as well as truly caring for others and the Earth are the norm – that’s a big order. Since their premise was that the Internet, computers, cell phones and iPads would and are in the process of creating this cultural evolution right now, I listened intently for any examples of this positive trend. There weren’t any.

While I fully support expanded communication that empowers individual self-expression, I can’t help but recall that every time a new technology reared its head, it was heralded as a breakthrough for civilization. This happened whether the innovation was airplanes, space travel or iPods, but so far, the hoped-for promise of the accompanying uplifting of the conscious awareness of humanity hasn’t happened.

We need to understand that technology is merely a tool, and whether the results of its use are desired or undesired lies ultimately in the hearts and minds of human beings. For example, the laser can be employed as a miraculous healing tool or as a weapon. And, without humanity’s continuing aspiration to ever-increasing standards of ethics, morals and values, the “tools” and advances of technology will remain the property of corporate and government hearts and minds, which mean that they are motivated primarily by greed. The only question they ask is “Can we do this?” instead of “Should we do this?”

Scientific advances will continue to occur, and this is good. The challenge lies in the fact that we’ve made the acts of scientific and technological advances the priority rather than focusing on increasing the conscious awareness of human beings. What we must start seriously considering is how we can influence the outcomes of technology for the greatest ethical benefits of humanity as a whole.

When more and more individuals recognize that we have the power within us through our thoughts and words to heal our lives and to help change the world, our influence will affect the course of technology for the good of mankind. There is hope for a new world of consciousness emerging, but it won’t happen to us it must happen through us.

The concept of each of us being responsible for our own soul growth, as well as helping heal the world may not be as attractive as hoping and praying that science will save us in one giant technological leap, but the fact is that this do-it-yourself transformation is the only real solution. No matter how far we can travel into the cosmos, or how many advances science can pull out of manipulating matter, the underlying condition of humanity will not improve until we grow up and take responsibility for our lives, each other and our planet.
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Copyright 2010 © by Fern Stewart Welch

The author’s books: “Tea with Elisabeth,” “The Heart Knows the Way,” and “You Can Live A Balanced Life In An Unbalanced World,” are available at Amazon.com and other online booksellers, as well as through major bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders.