Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Life as it is happening--now

What did we do before GPS, cellphones, laptops and PCs, and of course the Global Internet. Now, although we are safe at work, or supposed to be working, or on our coffee break, or even standing and ordering coffee and food at Dunkin', or getting a Value Meal at McDonald's, we get instantaneous news on our Blackberry or Iphone about citizens getting shot at in Iran. Now, this very moment, helicopters are trailing citizens and the military is cracking down and threatening to fire on their own people. Right now, while you bite into that donut and take a sip of your iced coffee. You can read about it as it happens, just as you read the sports pages of the Boston Globe online. But those pages tell you what happened yesterday. You can be a witness to what's happening right there in Iran. You can zoom in and see it for yourself, or you can flip over to the Wimbledon tennis match, or the Dow Jones industrial average if you get bored. You can witness history being made, if you want to. Now that you are aware of the battle in Iran, you can google other websites to learn about the fraudulent election that sparked the unrest, or you can switch over to a video game, or close the window and work on your spreadsheet or your resume. The choice is yours.

1 comment:

Kimberly Davis said...

Wow, Michael--It's all like a big video game now, isn't it? I hope you're writing a short story about that! I'm enjoying your blog. Best, Kimberly Davis, Kim's Craft Blog, http://kimscraftblog.blogspot.com/