I'm no spring chicken and I've seen my fair share of tragedy, personal and public, big and small, and I wonder how much more I will see, how much more I can take. I'm an avid twitterer (you can tweet us by clicking the button below). I think it's an amazing tool, but a quick trawl through the tweets of the major news networks (sadly we're not yet amongst them) and it's clear to see that the world around us is in danger of descending into moral turpitude and chaos. I have no doubt that in broad terms social media is a good thing, as no doubt is the internet. But, and it's a big BUT, is social media speeding our demise into the dark side?
It's too late, of course now, to go back. One cannot rewind the clock as much it may be morally correct or socially responsible, were it possible. One has to ask whether these innovations were set loose in the public domain without first being made totally clear what the aims of the various medium were and what their social responsibilities should be. It's easy to say that Facebook, or Twitter, or any of the social media sites/apps cannot be held responsible for what is posted by their clientele, and whilst that may be true, is it right? Is it morally correct? Did Mark Zuckerberg foresee that Facebook would be used to radicalise so many unhappy, lost and disillusioned youngsters? Did he foresee that Facebook would be used by extremists to peddle their selective versions of hate and misdeeds, broadcasting them to anyone willing to listen, to anyone with access to a search engine and the time to track them down? Only he can answer.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that these innovative individuals should in any way be held accountable for what gets published via their media...or am I?
In truth, not really. But I do think there was too little time spent thinking about where, given the time and inevitable and ongoing digital evolution, they could be steered. Should there have been some sort of pre-legislation governing what could and could not be broadcast? But censorship brings it's own arguments, for and against freedom of speech, etc, such that in the end it never really works effectively and often sends things underground (to the so-called dark web, for example). In which case I revert back to the owners of these sites, and to the innovators; should they be more discerning about what, who and how people publicise their media? I'm not a lawyer and wouldn't even begin to understand the legal realities of how that might work, but morally, surely they have a responsibility to the parents of abused kids, the victims of suicide bombers radicalised via chatrooms or social media, or the victims of so-called revenge sex. The list goes on and on. And often the administrators say that there too much data posted every minute of every day to keep a check on it. But I'm sorry, that just doesn't wash. Try posting a picture of the Missus topless on a beach on your page and see how quickly you get pulled up!
I was watching the news today (sadly I should have taken more note of which channel I was watching, but I was on Twitter at the same time and thus distracted!) when this young kid came on.....obviously a very bright kid.....who'd invented a gun that he planned to sell over the web. Okay, nothing new there you say. But you'd be wrong. This gun is made of paper, is more than capable of killing and can be printed by anyone with a 3-D printer! What the fuck!?!
When asked what he would think if someone went on killing spree with one of his paper guns, he shrugged and said, basically, 'not my problem! I'm not responsible for what someone else could do with the gun!' I was dumb-founded. All he was interested in was making money! If he was my kid I would have kicked him all over creation for being such a prat! Why couldn't he use his obvious talents and invent an MRI scanner, for example, that could be 3-D printed and actually help someone rather than putting a gun into the hands of anyone with £300 to spend on a printer! I'm lost for words! And what's to stop him?
Nothing! Nothing at all!
And when someone takes the paper bits onto a plane, assembles the weapon and brings the plane down or much, much worse, what then?
"Well, so long as they paid their bill, then what do I care?"
How can this happen? Something has gone badly wrong with society when making money becomes more important than social and moral responsibility. And do you know what, I find it all horribly depressing!
Of course, the internet isn't the devil incarnate, but it does make one wonder.
I firmly believe that the vast, vast majority of people in the world are good, reasonable and hugely tolerant. Throughout history Wars and conflicts have been waged by strong minded individuals who subvert the minds and opinions of those weaker than themselves, turning neighbour against neighbour, friend against friend, race against race, religion against religion, and the rest of us just trundle blithely along, pulling triggers or pushing the buttons that launch bombs because we're told 'it's the right thing to do,' whichever side of the fence you are! Do unto others, but do it first, and do it better (or should that be 'do it worse).
Pick the morality out of that!
Foreign Policy magazine is, for me, an amazing and largely impartial resource, but my word, it's hard to get through the pages on their site. The immense horrors that man commits against man is there for all to see (e.g. The Abdication of Moral Responsibility) and it makes shocking, yet illuminating reading.
I am a firm believer in freedom, all freedoms, but freedom should go hand in hand with responsibility and we should have a collective hand in that responsibility. We need to find a way between the peace-loving peoples of the world, to join hands and just say 'no! We've had enough of the mindless slaughter!'
This world is big enough for all of us to find our own space and live our lives as we, as individuals, wish to live our lives. Gives Sunni Muslims their own homeland, as we have the Jews, give another to the Shi-ites and to the Kurds and to the Palestinians, another to the Catholics and so on and so on, and if never the twain meet then so be it, but if we have all that we need (and let's be clear, there is more than enough of everything to go round) then surely we can get along in peace and friendship and not feel the need to take what is not ours just because they are different from us. Instead of Wars and conflict let our champions fight it out on the sports field and then, at the end, let the winners and the victors shake hands, drink from the same cup and then go home to their families, happy, replete and safe, as it should be.
I leave you in hope........
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