Then and Now: Part two

I was watching the rousing action movie, Independence Day earlier. If you saw it, you remember that the space aliens blocked all communication and nobody on Earth could help each other. They didn’t know about telegraphs though and that old technology saved the day.

Also, Saul called earlier and Mary was on the extension using a cordless phone with the battery going out while she was talking. Luckily, we have 5 phones in the house and she was able to get back in the conversation again. I was using an old phone from the 60’s; the kind with the coiled cord and no batteries. I’m old, what can I say? I even have a phone from the 50’s with a dial, whatever that is. But I digress.

The point is, new technology and ideas, though beautiful aren’t always the best. I’ve been getting a lot of emails that further illustrate that. Here a few excerpts to ponder.

100 years ago:

The average life expectancy was 47 years. Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores only. There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads. Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub. Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone. The average wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour. The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year. More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME. Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard.' Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee was fifteen cents a pound. Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo. The American flag had 45 stars. Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet. There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day. Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school. There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.! Plus one more sad thought; 95 percent of the taxes we have now did not exist in 1910.

Some of that sounds really bad but think about these things for comparison. You know it’s 2010 when:

You accidentally enter your PIN on the microwave. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries. Most commercials on television have a web site at the bottom of the screen. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't even have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

Most of my friends were born between the 30’s and the 70’s.

First, we survived being born to mothers who may have smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. Then we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets, and, when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps, not helmets, on our heads. As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes. We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter, and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And we weren't overweight. WHY? Because we were always outside playing, that's why! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day and, we were okay. We did not have Play Stations, Nintendos and X-boxes, no 150+ channels on cable, no video movies or DVDs, no surround-sound or CDs, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms. WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them. Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, and inventors ever. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ?

I never watch Jay Leno but here is a quote from his show:

"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

The key is that as much fun as technology is, it has separated us from God. The more we have the less we THINK we need Him. When in reality, the more we have the more we miss Him. Peculiar, isn’t it?

I thank God for the things we have. After all, there is no way I could do this newsletter without a computer. Still, I would find a way to spread His word without it, I suppose. Maybe I would be closer to all who read this without technology. Let’s Praise God for what we have and put Him back in the picture.

I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.
Psalms 119:59