What are you rebelling against? By The Recovering Educator
Photo by Tina Rataj-Berard on Unsplash
A revolution begins with small acts of rebellion. The revolution that gave birth to the United States began with a few thrown snowballs and harsh words in Boston.
If you are reading this you probably spent much of your youth either participating in or observing acts of rebellion through images delivered by a dumb, black and white, no def, snowy, television tube attractively packaged in a plastic or metal woodgrain box.
We have lived the history so I will skip the obligatory recap of the social upheaval of the 60s and 70s. That past only lives in our heads and endless documentaries streamed via our smart, 75", Neo QLED, 8K, 16:9, 7680 × 4320 pixels screens dangling from our walls.
In spite of the 60-year long parade of televised horror to sell advertising time, Gil Scott-Heron was correct when he wrote:
"The revolution will not be televised. The Revolution will put you in the driver's seat. The revolution will be live."
How can the retired children of the revolution return to the driver’s seat? Metaphorically, do we need to be in the driver’s seat? Isn’t it time we handed over our keys to the next generation? Literally, do we want to hand over our keys and driver’s seat to someone whose full attention is only given to images and sounds on a device?
Maybe the revolution should start with us.
Concerns about technology taking over our lives is nothing new. Ned Ludd in 1779 allegedly destroyed machinery that was replacing skilled textile workers. The Luddite movement arose from this act of rebellion and has generalized to include a dislike or distrust of all forms of technology. I would never advocate becoming a full-blown Luddite. I am quite happy with electricity, AC, running water, and all of the modern conveniences that have become a necessity in western culture. However, the un-televised revolution is all about retaking control from the technology, putting you into the driver's seat.
Treat everything electronic as a tool. The device is there to serve us, not the other way around.
Turn off screens when they have done your bidding. Just because the news never ends doesn’t mean we have to watch it all day.
Open a window. Here we can open windows for a few weeks in the Spring and Autumn. Let fresh air in when it is not sweltering or freezing. We need fresh air.
Try to remember something without looking it up. Don’t give up because you will remember it three days later. Our brains need something to work on.
Read an analog book. Turn the pages, use a bookmark, take some notes then put it on a shelf or give it to someone else to enjoy. There will be no algorithm following your choice and making unwanted suggestions for your next purchase.
Communicate with people the old-fashioned way, send a text or email to one person at a time. I left social media a few years ago and frankly, no one noticed. I was not more interested in the stuff my friends were sharing with me than they were in what I was sharing.
Write on paper with a pencil. Everyone has a drawer full of pencils that are so old the erasers have turned to dust. Order some erasers from Amazon and put them to good use.
Open a window. Here we can open windows for a few weeks in the Spring and Autumn. Let fresh air in when it is not sweltering or freezing. We need fresh air.
Share a picture only when requested. Remember when there was a family that no one wanted to visit because they would pull out a photo album of their latest vacation? Pictures of grandchildren are exempt from this rule.
Turn off the news. Someone will always let you know when something really bad has happened that will impact you. Bad news a world away will just live in your head rent-free and convince you everything is going to hell. For every hour of horror, the news will give you a few seconds of someone doing something good, this is not a fair trade.
Go outside to check the weather. Someone will always let you know when bad weather will impact you or people you care for in a different part of the country.
Find a seat in a restaurant that does not face a television. We eat in front of the screen enough at home.
Look at something and take a picture in your mind.
Consider the time we spend on the surface of the Earth, it is very brief. Unless I live to 120 there are more years behind me than there are in front of me. Let’s take control of our time and spend it well. Maybe a few other people will notice and try to do the same.