Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Sweet Illusions


Hundreds of years ago, brave (and desperate) men and women sold all of their worldly possession, said goodbye to everyone they knew and everything they had ever known and boarded ships bound for a new world and a new life.  They were not foolish, simple men.  They knew the risks they would take and those they would expose their families to.  And yet they came.  Putting their very lives on the line, our ancestors braved the ravages of a treacherous sea only to settle in an untamed wilderness and build a truly great civilization.  Only by the blood of their hands and the sweat of their brows did they hew a new life.  And, in the process, their very lifeblood was required.  They lost children, wives and their own lives to their dream.

And now, we can't drive to the next town without our cell phone.  "What if we got into a wreck?"  "What if we broke down?"  Apparently, in the 21st century our legs don't work.  We couldn't possible walk home.  When cell phones made their appearance, they were heralded as a wonderful way to stay connected.  Now, you could be in constant communication.  You could make use of those hours spent commuting by working right from your car.  You could let your wife know when you were running late.  If you were in an accident (gasp!) you could call for help.

At first, only a select few could afford the luxury of a cell phone.  Soon, however, as technology advanced and prices came down, most people tucked a phone into their pocket or their purse.  What once was considered an expensive gadget became an indispensable necessity.  Now, not only were business people chained to the master of their own making, children had also succumbed to the "need" for a constant leash.  "Good" parents wouldn't dream of letting Suzie leave the house without her phone.  She might need something.  She might get in an accident.  Or, then again, she might need to send naked pictures of herself to her boyfriend.  Ah, technology, a wonderful thing!

But it doesn't stop there.  Now, your cell phone (you know, that wonderful item that offers so much perceived "safety") can now be used against you.  In order to make the most out of the cell towers wherever you may be, your phone has a GPS (yes, Global Positioning System) that can be used to track your phone - and you.  And what a wonderful thing that is, right?  Only a "bad guy" wouldn't want to found, right?  Wrong.  I don't have to have done something wrong not to want to found.  I might want the freedom not to be bothered.  I might not want someone to know where I am every second of every day.

We strap on the bracelet of "safety" so readily but wonder what went wrong when that bracelet becomes a handcuff.  We never stop to think that "safety" is nothing but a sweet illusion.  Life is not safe.  It never has been.  It never will be.  And a "safe" life is a life not lived.

As a society, we have come to value safety over freedom.  And we have forgotten that God is the author of life and death.  We are so concerned with being safe that we have forgotten how to really live.  Life is dangerous.  And that is how it is supposed to be.  Only when there is an element of danger, do we realize our frailty.  And only when we realize our frailty will we seek the Maker of our souls.

Our congress has plans to see 30,000 drones in the sky above our heads by the year 2020. 30,000 drones to keep you safe.  30,000 drones that see all.  That hear all.  Never will you get in an accident when "they" won't know.  Never will your car be stolen when "they" won't see.  Never will your house be broken into when "they" won't have knowledge of the incident.  Doesn't that make you feel safe?

Remember.  We have to remember.  The people that have gone before us were not willing to give up their freedom for their safety.  They knew that the people peddling safety were really seeking only to bind them with chains forged for "the public good".  True protection is at the heart of every good father, every family.  The "safety" the government offers is only thinly veiled bondage.

I will trust God with my life, not some flawed government.  I don't want to be kept safe.  I want to live.

18 comments:

  1. how true! It is a very sad thought to know that the majority do not even understand freedom and how very precious it is! Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. children no longer play outside til dark in their neighborhoods with other children...everyone carries the cell phone just in case....all states mandate that if you have a driving vehicle you must have insurance, many schools no longer let children carry their lunch to school-it must be purchased....just a few of the freedoms we no longer have...there are many many more and seems that government-be it federal, state, or local are increasingly taking away our freedoms and privacy in the most subtle ways as well as in-your-face way.

    ReplyDelete
  3. And in here, in Canada, the SQ (police) ask the government to have the permission to spies the conversation on the phone and cellular between reporters... For our own safety, so they wont reveal us some dangerous private stuff... off course!! Like they don't already do it anyways! (It's in French but just in case you can understand or you can be able to translate it) http://www.fpjq.org/index.php?id=single&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=26422&tx_ttnews[backPid]=1&cHash=3bef7ac8a4#.TzMMj7iFaiM.twitter

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes, we must have Big Brother's permission (in the form of a license) to drive a car. We must have Big Brother's permission (in the form of a license) to get married. And we must even ask Big Brother's permission (again as a license) just to have a dog! Land of the free??? Maybe 200 years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your post is so timely! It recently became quite evident to my husband and me that we had gone down the slippery slope of buying into the social media phenomenon. If you read the new privacy rules of some of the most popular social sites, you will find that they want to gather all your information into one "convenient" place. We decided we did not need to know what our friends were thinking every minute of every day, nor did we want them to know our every waking thought. So we have deleted those accounts and slipped back into the quiet and peace of an uninterrupted and non-intrusive life. What freedom!

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Belle Ringer... if you are referring to facebook... you can NEVER "delete" your account. No one can "delete" their own facebook account. If you read the statement upon closing your account it said "don't worry, any time you want to return, ALL your information will still be here".

    I suppose that facebook also keeps a backup file of your previous settings... because once you have posted a photo on facebook "they" own it. Even if you 'delete' it...

    ReplyDelete
  7. I agree commpletely! (As I write this on my cell phone!)

    It is now a work requirement to have one -vial being chained to your digital desk carrying your work calendar, synched with your home calendar, and all your contacts, clients, and coworkers atall all times! Society thas ppressed the expectatio that SHOULD you NOT want to have it with you everywhere you don't love your job &you coworkers... I need a permanent vacation from my work & phone!

    I was the last holdout to NOT havea a phone as I saw it for what it was... 6 years agot my job & fiance demanded I get one so I had to bite the bullet. :( This weekend I'm taking 4 days at the cabin with my wife and no cell phone! -Mat

    ReplyDelete
  8. I need to inform all, that even on forums, and on sites that use any google application, or service, that every word that you type, is no longer yours.

    If you cancel, it is still there. If you change your mind, too bad. It's archived and stored in their database. And, easily retrieved IF you, OR they, decide that your info needs to be retrieved to find you.

    Once you succumbed to the enchantments of the Devil, you gave up your rights to "yours", if you're using any public communications or travel modes using gov roads. This includes, phone, WIFI, networked computers, and soon, even walking out of your front door, as Enola has just warned you.

    We are being watched just like goldfish in a bowl.

    This is no longer life. This is monitor, manipulate and control.

    You just don't see it quite that way fully yet.

    The consequences are dire, it will worsen.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Google has become too intrusive. That's why I switched to DuckDuckGo for my search engine. They claim to keep no record of your comings and goings.

    ReplyDelete
  10. One thing the human race is really good at is exploring. It seems we've almost given up on it. We have the capability to move on out into the solar system(at least on the Moon, which would be a good jumpoff point) and set up colonies,yet it seems we just don't have the will to do it.Dangerous? of course, but so was getting on a sailing ship, or in a conestoga wagon.
    Any and all communications can be monitored-nothing new here. Drones can be quite small,not as big as those toy remote controlled helicopters. For that matter, they need not fly. Think of those Nanobug toys. A GPS cellphone can get your position down close, but the rest just locate you to the nearest cell repeater.
    There is nothing inherently wrong with any technology, it's just the people who misuse it. As with any technology, that which works for you can work against you.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sounds like what Benjamin Franklin was thinking in 1755, when he said: "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

    ReplyDelete
  12. excellent post-- we are no longer free. we are watched constantly with security cameras, GPS devices, cell phones, social media. even here on this blog. if you don't believe this blog is being monitored you are fooling no one except yourself. the FBI has already asked for and given permission to monitor all social media and blogs and internet activity. this permission was given because it will help with national security. TOTAL BS!!. it is to keep WATCH on the citizens--good or bad citizens, makes no difference to our gov't. most "citizens" don't seem to care and MANY WANT the gov't to take CARE of them. our 1st, 2nd, and 4th rights (probably more like ALL our rights) are under fire from outside and inside influences including our gov't. If WE remain apathetic and allow the continuance of our eroding way of life we will be a third world country at best. keep your info coming. peace, shadowfaxhound

    ReplyDelete
  13. 30,000 drones by 2020? What an optimistic timeframe. I, on the other hand, suspect we'll sifting through the ashes of civilisation by then.

    ReplyDelete
  14. To honeyfromflintyrocks,
    Thankfully you actually CAN delete yor Facebook account - at least you could back when I did it. You have to search in their "Help" settings for "how do I delete my account?". And then follow various instructions. You're right that if you just "close" your account, it still exists there. But you can (or could - it's been a few years since I did this) actually delete your account. Now, I don't know if that will erase all your pictures or not, especially if someone else "tagged" them. But at least your other info will be gone. I removed all my pictures first, changed all my personal info to a fictitious person, then deleted it all - just in case. Some would say paranoid... I say cautious. Hope this helps!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I awarded you the prestigious Liebster award today on my blog http://preambleforlife.blogspot.com/2012/02/ive-been-liebsterschnockered.html

    I enjoy your blog :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hello!

    I really love your blog and I would like to recognize you by awarding your blog the Versatile Blogger Award.

    If you would like to accept it, please go to my blog to receive it here:

    http://savoirvivreautrement.blogspot.com/2012/02/oh-une-reconnaissance.html

    Thank you :o)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Enola- check out/ google Jonathan Cahn's "Harbringer" or watch his 2 part interview at Sid Roth ( the show watches like a 3 am program!)
    Isaiah 9:10

    ReplyDelete