Life As We Know It

There are many things happening around our country and our world that give us pause and things to ponder. It appears that life as we know it is changing fast. Frank and I talk about the differences in the way people are now compared to when we grew up or when we were in college. I really think it has always been this way. Each generation brings something new to this equation called life, some of them good, some of them not so good and some of them bad. There have been differing opinions since the dawn of time, it's not that. When the new generation barely resembles what has been before, it's not just a difference of opinion or of the generations, it becomes a whole new philosophy to the way life should be conducted. People are just different now, and I don't necessarily think for the better in many instances.

Technology has forever changed our lives. It has brought amazing wonders to our fingertips. Like this computer I am typing on and the internet with which we communicate on this blog. Simply amazing. How many of you had pen pals when you were younger? What's the point now, when you can communicate with voice and video around the globe at the touch of a button? Technology has made the world much smaller, yet more distant. Many people no longer communicate with each other much, except in short written text messages or phone calls. I appreciate the ability I have to communicate by phone when I am traveling by myself, but I surely don't need to be on the phone all the time. Many people I work with are surprised I still have a flip open 'dumb phone' instead of a smart phone with internet and email and every game under the sun. Well, you know what? I like my dumb phone. It suits me just fine.

Technology has also taken a front seat when it comes to flash mobs and some social and/or political uprisings around the world. It has been reported that many gangs and criminal enterprises have become very skilled in using technology to their advantage. Now comes along drones, robots and computers that can read your mind and your radio frequency 

identification or RFID chip. What's  next? How far will we go with technology and how much are we willing to let it infringe upon our liberties? Is it worth it? How much will you give up? You can already be tracked by your phone and your new vehicle. Does it matter if they want to implant a chip in your body and in your children? The things we grew up with were normal to us. The things today's children grow up with will be normal to them. If they all get an RFID chip, then before long it will be abnormal to not have one. Just like today, it is abnormal if you don't get vaccinated or have a smart phone or don't watch television.

One day last week at school we had a project to work on. My assignment was to see how tall we could build a structure using one deck of playing cards. We tried several different ways of using the cards, then I started a game of 'Go Fish' with a group of third grade students. Most of them had never heard of it and didn't know how to play. When I asked them if they had ever played any card games, not one of them said yes. They didn't know how to hold the cards or what the 'J', 'Q', 'K' or 'A' meant, to them, they were just letters.

Most young families now have a very different life than when we grew up. They have been taught, or in some people's views indoctrinated, in a whole different set of values than we were. I just don't see how they are going to manage very well if the economy continues to decline, food and fuel prices continue to go up, discord among differing groups of people continues to increase, and their ever increasing demands are not met. There is a very large group of people that really do believe that it is their right to be taken care of. What are they going to do when there is no one left to take care of them? Take care of each other? Somehow I doubt it.

There are many headlines to read everyday that indicate the rising tensions between people, between countries, and between governments and citizens. There are headlines about the economies of the world and how they are all hanging on by a thread that gets weaker and weaker each day. There are headlines about hate and anger and lost freedoms. Here are just a few.

• The 10 fastest-rising food prices at the grocery 
• FEC chair warns that conservative media like Drudge Report and Sean Hannity face regulation --- like PACs
• Venezuela to Ration Electricity After Columbia Cuts Gas
• Vietnam: Chinese ships ram vessels near oil rig

And then there are the headlines like this that still provide some hope for the future of humanity and for our country.

•  Watch Congress pray like George Washington

There is a song that has a line something like.....life as we know it ended today. That day is coming for us. Some say it is already here. The landscapes of our lives have been repainted and no longer resemble the views of our Christian, conservative, patriotic, hard working life. I miss it. Are you ready for what is coming next? I don't know what it will be, but it won't be anything like what it once was or what we have become accustomed to even now. I try to visualize what life will be like one year from now, five years from now or even ten years from now. I can't. Things are changing too fast and have become too complicated. We can only prepare for the hardships we see coming. So, see you later. I've got to get back to work.

Until next time - Fern