Computerized World

Life is full consistencies. Either it is constantly happy or constantly sad.

I know that sounds strange but that is the truth of the matter. These days in the millennium there are no grey area's just extremes for everyone.

The people who are unhappy spend their time trying to figure out why they  are that way and the happy cannot understand why the depressed stay the way they are. I keep wanting to believe it is all about the decisions we make on a daily basis big or small.

However now with US economy being as bad as it is what decision are there to make? Prices are going up on everything but houses which are going down in prices and buyers can't afford to buy so that leaves allot of people loosing their homes because they can no longer afford to pay the mortgage on their home.
So unless you own a big internet company or are already apart of a big business you are dead in the water.

The job market is geared to the young ones coming up with their bachelor's degree who are still young and naïve enough to take a small pay check. This leaves people in their middle ages stuck with the minimum wage jobs that doesn't all them to afford bills or even a decent life. What has happened to our country when big business is more important than education, health, home and community?

We are in the computer age because we wanted to make our lives more easy and fast. I have to say I love going online and finding anything and everything that one ever wanted to know and was afraid to ask. We shop online , we read the latest news online we even date online. There are virtual worlds online that allow us to meet people without even leaving our homes and if we choose to marry that person we met "Online" we can do that too all from the comfort of our homes.

Is it any wonder that the new thief is called a hacker? This is someone who can invade our lives through our computer and steal our identities cleaning out our bank accounts, use our credit cards, make use of our health insurance etc.

On the plus side the internet allows us to reach out to each other all over the world and see how the other half lives and what we have in common. The internet makes it possible to see if what the government says to us about other countries  and it's people are true or not.

It allows us to share stories and pictures and blog about our lives and what we think. We can do extensive research about important issues such as our health and all the how to information we want  and more. Soon we will be able to vote our conscious online as well. Now that one has me a bit fearful because well there goes that hacker again.

The down side of the computer age is well Hackers!

The government does watch everything we do online and if they don't like what we're saying the government will keep close tabs on us from that moment on. This by the way is all in the name of keeping us secure from those "Evil doers" that want to take away our rights and freedoms. Am I being sarcastic? Yes but I am also telling the truth.

Back in 95 when I first started going online most everything was free. You could even go to school for free and have free internet access as well as go to any web site without worrying about paying for it or having a membership on that site. By 2000 that was pretty much over and now you have to join and sometimes pay. You can be on some sites for free but you are allowed only the most basic use or a trial for 7 days.

Being that everything is computerized now except of course us for the time being. This takes away the human factor in most things and replaces the human factor which means jobs. The government loves that Americans believe it is the outsourcing and the people who come into our country illegally but I think it is that computers have taken over with the help of big companies who run them.

Sometimes I find myself missing the small mom and pop shops that welcomed you in and took the time to answer your questions. They too have been run out of town by Big Companies and our computerized world. When we started using our wonderfully convenient credit cards and ATM cards it became too expensive for the small shop owners to compete because the swipe machines cost an arm and leg and perhaps an ear to use.

So our lives have become simpler but are we happier?

I have to wonder am I the only one out there who misses the close personal touch from a real humans voice and face?

Recently I took a trip from beautiful serene Southern Oregon to busy, noisy New York City to see family. I found myself looking at people and searching out people's faces but they were hidden by cell phones. I stood in a crowd  at the Port Authority train station. I never felt so lonely in my life and it occurred to me I could drop dead right here and now.Everyone I thought would walk over or around me.

Please God tell me I am wrong I begged. Just then this sweet little girl walked up to me and smiled while eating her ice cream. I smiled back and felt better for that moment in time.

I called my father in New Jersey just so I could hear a familiar voice and I felt safe again. While I was down in the subway I had to ask a subway worker for directions who was just getting off work. He and his crew actually walked me half way to where I needed to go while joking and laughing about their lives.

I felt human again and my faith was restored that there was still hope for that personal touch and that all was not lost to a computer take over.

The one thing that still holds true is the need for human touch, for hand reaching out to you and meaning it! So I say don't loose yourself in the computer world. Not even for a moment because we all do still need each other. I know I still need you who ever you are.