This is of course my opinion, set against the opinion of the man who wrote that article, but I think in many ways he is wrong.
I do not think of Tolkien as a Technophobe (sp?) but as a person who dared to question the nessesity of it all. During recent storms where I live it has become plain that we have fallen far because of our ‘need’ for technology. I spoke to a friend of mine and she declared to me, “There is nothing to do but stare at the walls when the power is out.” I was shocked to say the least at this claim. Without the T.V., without her computer and her PS2, she could find nothing to do. What was worse, her 3 year old son without his television on was bored and started acting out throwing toys and yelling at his mother that she was mean to take the TV from him.
I live in a more rural location and power outages are not uncommon for days in a row. It doesn’t make that much difference to us when the power fails. We don’t watch TV except movies occasionally in the evening. And the computer and internet, is mostly for fun occasionally, we do not depend on it. Sure I can’t vacuum, but I can sweep, mop, tend the garden, wash the windows…. read the gift scene again. Better yet I can sit with my son and play with him and his blocks. Their is never nothing better than “to stare at the walls.”
In my opinion, meager and humble as it is, I believe Tolkien’s skeptacisms to be well founded. People used to live close to where they worked, now we have bedroom communities where people travel two hours sometimes more to their job. Families stayed close because geographically they where never distant. Is this really a better world? In some ways yes, better medicine, knowledge more easily accessed, people more easily killed with the touch of a button…. Hmmm… maybe not all technology is good. Perhaps people where less eager to make war when they had to kill each person by hand with a sword. Look into that man’s eyes as he died, as you killed him, for whatever reason.
And what of our stewardship of the planet on which we live? Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying everyone should sacrifice thier first born so a tree or an ant might live. But being the (as far as we know) most sentient, and supposedly intelligent, life form on this planet, we are responsible for it. Of course we should put things in perspective… 99% of all the species that ever lived grew to be extinct before humans could raise a spear. And if every human died tomorrow, the Earth would still exist and thrive. But being that we ARE here, I agree with Tolkien… we are responsible to this planet.
That being so, I do not think that new technology is always good, so I guess I’m a technophobe too?
2 responses to “Technophobia in TTT”
This is of course my opinion, set against the opinion of the man who wrote that article, but I think in many ways he is wrong.
I do not think of Tolkien as a Technophobe (sp?) but as a person who dared to question the nessesity of it all. During recent storms where I live it has become plain that we have fallen far because of our ‘need’ for technology. I spoke to a friend of mine and she declared to me, “There is nothing to do but stare at the walls when the power is out.” I was shocked to say the least at this claim. Without the T.V., without her computer and her PS2, she could find nothing to do. What was worse, her 3 year old son without his television on was bored and started acting out throwing toys and yelling at his mother that she was mean to take the TV from him.
I live in a more rural location and power outages are not uncommon for days in a row. It doesn’t make that much difference to us when the power fails. We don’t watch TV except movies occasionally in the evening. And the computer and internet, is mostly for fun occasionally, we do not depend on it. Sure I can’t vacuum, but I can sweep, mop, tend the garden, wash the windows…. read the gift scene again. Better yet I can sit with my son and play with him and his blocks. Their is never nothing better than “to stare at the walls.”
In my opinion, meager and humble as it is, I believe Tolkien’s skeptacisms to be well founded. People used to live close to where they worked, now we have bedroom communities where people travel two hours sometimes more to their job. Families stayed close because geographically they where never distant. Is this really a better world? In some ways yes, better medicine, knowledge more easily accessed, people more easily killed with the touch of a button…. Hmmm… maybe not all technology is good. Perhaps people where less eager to make war when they had to kill each person by hand with a sword. Look into that man’s eyes as he died, as you killed him, for whatever reason.
And what of our stewardship of the planet on which we live? Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying everyone should sacrifice thier first born so a tree or an ant might live. But being the (as far as we know) most sentient, and supposedly intelligent, life form on this planet, we are responsible for it. Of course we should put things in perspective… 99% of all the species that ever lived grew to be extinct before humans could raise a spear. And if every human died tomorrow, the Earth would still exist and thrive. But being that we ARE here, I agree with Tolkien… we are responsible to this planet.
That being so, I do not think that new technology is always good, so I guess I’m a technophobe too?
Good Day and Be Well,
Tasar Took Nualda