Future Shock or Future Success

March 27, 2011

“Freedom is not the right to live as we please, but the right to find how we ought to live in order to fulfill our potential.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson      

       In the 1970 book, “Future Shock”, sociologist, Alvin Toffler, explained that the enormous structural changes in society were progressing at an accelerated rate, from an industrial society to a “super industrial society”. Toffler argued that the fast paced technological change would create social changes with increasing speed, and that would overwhelm people, leaving them disconnected and suffering from stress and disorientation – future shocked. He also popularized what was then a new term, “information overload”.

          In the beginning of the 20^th century we had been dazzled by the novelty of cars, airplanes, and radio. In the 50’s, television became so popular, it became the primary source of news, information and entertainment. Suddenly, people on the west coast were listening to the same news, at the same time as people on the east coast, and what was fashionable in NYC was also fashionable in Chicago, LA, and Boise, Idaho.

          The 60’s brought us many new inventions: halogen lamps, audio cassettes, compact discs, the bar code scanner, acrylic paint, permanent press fabric, soft contact lenses, Nutrasweet, the first handheld calculator, the mouse, the artificial heart, and the ATM to name just a few. And with all these lifestyle changes, the ‘60’s also gave us Valium.

          When Future Shock was published in 1970, we read Toffler’s prescient predictions without an inkling of what was to come. The floppy disc was invented, and then the cell phone, the microprocessor, gene splicing and the MRI. Technologically, the world was spinning faster and faster.

          In the 80’s, Microsoft gave us Windows, Apple gave us the Mac, pc’s began to populate homes, digital cell phones were invented, and Eli Lilly gave us Prozac. We ended the 20th century with Viagra and the worldwide web, not knowing that we were facing one hell of a ride in the next decade.

          Fast forward to 2011. We live in a brave new world, where the internet has become a seamless part of everyone’s lives - a world of e-mail, wireless internet, Facebook, Google, Skype, and texting. So when an earthquake happens in Haiti or Japan, we know about it within minutes. We push a few keys on a cell phone and send a donation to the crippled area. 

          Think about all the methods we can use to connect to the internet – desktop computer, iPod, laptop, cell phone, TV or fridge! You can find anything you want, anytime you want, or connect with anyone you want, either by e-mail, telephone or Skype. Using Facebook or any social network, you can connect with friends and strangers all over the world.

          The internet has changed the way businesses function, and how the consumer buys their goods and services. You can buy your movie tickets online and skip the long lines at the theatre; or make dinner reservations online, even when the restaurant is closed. Looking for a handyman? Try Craig’s List. Want to check out a contractor? Try Angie’s List or Kudzu. Pay bills online, download financial information, or transfer funds from one account to another. You can even order books, movies, and medicines. All will be delivered to your mailbox at your earliest convenience. There is no limit to the kind of business conducted on the internet, all from the comfort of a desk chair.

          We are watching the political state of the world changing before our eyes because of the new technologies that make it possible to get this information in real time. We can watch insurgencies and speak to our journalists as things are happening, because of several new technologies, the most popular being Skype. Because of Cisco’s videoconferencing programs, important people can be interviewed face to face on TV without the need for the interviewee to travel to the interviewer,

          The revolutions in the Middle East and N Africa would not have been possible without the Internet, Facebook and other social internet networks. Even the Japanese people are turning to the Internet to get the news from the U.S., because they feel they are not getting accurate information regarding the nuclear disaster from their own government. These recent political events have exposed us to a greater understanding of the power of the internet.

          The new technologies have given the phrase “information overload” greater meaning than any of us expected in 1970. Are people overwhelmed, disoriented, disconnected and stressed from the speed with which our social structures are changing because of technology? For many people, the answer would be a resounding, “yes”. Many other people would say that life has been made easier with the new technologies; and still others would say that it has been a combination of more stress, more convenience, more responsibility, and easier access to entertainment and knowledge. Whatever we feel about the changes, we all have to agree that these monumental leaps in technology have brought about major social changes which require ever increasing technological education in order to keep up. In this time of drastic change all over the world, it is the learners who will inherit the future.

          In the 80’s, the Tofflers went to China to promote two sequels to Future Shock, both of which became best-selling books. Since then, China has pursued policies reflecting the Tofflers' emphasis on the growing importance of digital technology and the knowledge-based economy of the future. These policies were built on a foundation of strong education and have brought China into the 2^nd decade of the 21^st century at lightning speed, making China a major force in the world economy. If the education system in the U.S. continues to sustain assaults on the availability and quality of education, while China and the other nations of the world maintain their policies that make certain their people can continue to innovate and produce, there is no saying how long we will continue to be an economic leader in the world. To put it another way, how quickly will our decline occur? 

         The Toffler’s most recent book, Revolutionary Wealth, was published worldwide earlier this year and quickly again became a bestseller in China and elsewhere. This book focuses on how wealth will be created and who will ultimately get it in the 21^st century. Perhaps it might be a good idea for all our leaders to read this book and use this sociological expertise in the design of future political policies ...before it’s too late.

It Might Be Worth Forwarding, If It Were True

12.20.2010 
 

“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put its pants on.”  ~Winston Churchill

For many years, I’ve been on a mission to stop the forwarding of hoaxes. I used to just ignore them, until I learned that there’s no such thing as a harmless hoax.  Most of my friends know if they can’t verify, then just don’t forward it; but it is clear that some people forward e-mails just because they want them to be true. 

On one recent afternoon, I received no less than six e-mails from friends asking me to verify or debunk an e-mail they had received.  One was an email about Tommy Hilfiger making derogatory comments on the Oprah show; one was about unlocking cars by cell phone if locked by a keyless or remote control; and another was a slide show of “paintings” purportedly by an artist from the Ukraine. 

There were more; several of a political nature; an e-mail purporting to be from Adobe claiming that recipients can download an upgraded version of Adobe products by following links in the message; and the ever present message about a virus coming via e-mail.    

          Hoaxes are not just harmless pranks or errors in judgment. A hoax is a deliberately fabricated lie masquerading as truth.  A hoax can be spread for malicious purposes: to steal your personal information or spoil someone's reputation. A hoax may be absolutely innocent and created for God knows what reasons, but hoaxes all have consequences, some even have unintended consequences.

Let’s use the Tommy Hilfiger hoax as an example.  This story began in 1997.  It tells the tale of Tommy Hilfiger appearing on the Oprah show, making racist comments and stating that he wished African-Americans, Hispanics, Jews and Asians wouldn’t buy his clothes.  The forwarded e-mail suggested that “we put him in a financial state where he himself would not be able to afford the ridiculous prices he puts on his clothes.”   

Oprah stated that she had never met Tommy Hilfiger, and the ADL investigated the accusations and found them to have no basis in fact.  Still the e-mail continues to circulate.  Can you imagine what impact this has had on the Tommy Hilfiger business?  Does it make you wonder if the e-mail was designed as a form of corporate sabotage for the benefit of Hilfiger competitors? How many minorities were pained by reading the racist comments?   And can you imagine how much time Tommy Hilfiger must spend defending his reputation? 

The artist who is credited with the slide show of paintings, which are obviously photographs, feels violated that someone unknown to her would spread this e-mail with her photo and biography, when the work was actually done by a photographer with the same name. She is pleading for someone to make some order of that mess in order to protect her reputation, and to give credit to the photographer who created the photos.

The Adobe e-mail referenced above is in fact a phishing scheme to collect credit card information from unknowing victims by using a widely respected corporate name.  Following the instructions of said e-mail would result in unauthorized use of your credit card, and would require a lot of time in order to resolve the ensuing mess, not to mention the stress.

Virus warnings may seem harmless, but be aware that they are almost always not real, and the people who create viruses can use known hoaxes to their advantage. A good example is the AOL4FREE hoax. This began as a hoax warning about a nonexistent virus. Once it was known that this was a hoax, somebody began to distribute a destructive Trojan horse in a file named AOL4FREE, attached to the original hoax virus warning. The results were anything but harmless.

The internet is used to spread all sorts of misinformation on every topic, but no topic has become as pervasive as the ever increasing political hoaxes, mostly motivated by the desire to ridicule or besmirch opposing politicians or political institutions. It doesn’t matter if the false rumors are about Sarah Palin, President Obama, John McCain, Al Gore or any other political figure.  These people are elected officials and deserve respect as well as truth.  E-mails that are misleading or unsubstantiated are an affront to everyone who receives them.  They are poisonous to the political process and present a danger to our democracy.  If our opinions are colored by lies, we cannot make properly informed choices in the voting booth.  

The Internet has made it so easy for this ugly game to endure. We now spread faulty information faster and more efficiently than in the pre-digital era.  The good news is that we now have fact checking sites.  The leaders in this field are Snopes.com, PolitiFact.com, or the granddaddy of them all, Factcheck.org, sponsored by the Annenberg Public Policy Center.  I urge you to make frequent use of these sites, whenever you are about to forward an e-mail. If you forward a hoax, you become an accessory.  

One would think we would have learned from the Orson Welles “War of the Worlds” broadcast which created a panic when it aired in1938. Today the lessons endure: always remain vigilant.  Just because something has landed in your Inbox, don’t assume that it’s true.  We grew up in an era of journalistic scrutiny, where we could believe whatever we saw in print.  The Internet has changed all that.  Anybody can write whatever he wishes - lies, distortions, slander, hoaxes, scams, whatever; and each of us is free to scrutinize, ignore, or believe it.  A tiger can smile; and a snake can say I love you.  Be careful out there! 

Life Is Testing Our Moral Compass

“A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality.” -  Winston Churchill

      

          Morality has become a complicated issue in the multi-cultural world we live in today.  It affects our behavior, our conscience, our society, and our ultimate destiny.   Turn on the news.  Moral issues and judgments are everywhere.  Oppression and revolutions in the Middle East, social and political battles in the mid-west, Wikileaks, financial crimes, abuse of children and women, corporate abuse, environmental issues and let’s not forget politics.

          Politics & morality are not words that are usually uttered in the same sentence, although we often pretend that our political values are based on moral principles.   I’m not just talking about the morality or ethics of our elected officials; or the crimes we hear about daily.  I’m also referring to the moral values upon which we, the people, base our own lives, and the politics within our social groups, organizations, corporations, and religious institutions.  Politics consists of relations involving power or authority and refers to the methods and tactics used to control the decisions and actions of the unit, whether political or social.

          In politics, many seem to consider that what the majority wants or likes is moral and immorality is what they dislike.  But that can’t be possible since our decisions change so frequently.  Can the majority be immoral?  Can the majority have wrong values?  These questions are as valid in our social situations as they are in government.  If ethics are just the will of the majority, they merely represent the whim of the moment, just another form of fashion.

          We are all faced with moral decisions every day, and everyone adheres to a moral doctrine of some kind.  Immanuel Kant said that moral judgments are binding on all human beings no matter what kind of society they live in.  Morality is the core of our personal philosophy, our attempts to define right and wrong, what we ought to do as distinct from what we may in fact do.  It begins with our personal behavior; how we conduct business, how we interact with our friends, how we treat strangers, how we care for the needy, how we vote, and how we live.  “Morality is not the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness."

          We must decide for ourselves where the conscience originates and how we form our personal code of conduct,  Many people hold to the idea that the conscience is a matter of our hearts, that concepts of right, wrong, and fairness are "programmed" in each of us, hopefully based on sympathy, education and social ties.  In reality many base their moral decisions solely on their personal “needs”, the desire for wealth, health, pleasure and recognition. 

          Each one of us is the judge of our own daily behavior, whether we are conducting business, playing cards with friends, leading a group event, or any other personal interaction.  If we believe in an ethical code of conduct, and practice it in our personal lives, we will also judge the morality of our political positions and votes, whether Democrat, Republican or Independent.  Hopefully all these judgments will be based on ethics, not our finances or personal welfare. 

          The world we live in has become complicated.  It is full of conflicts and angst, often putting our moral compass to the test.  We should be as concerned about morality as we are about cholesterol.  Then perhaps moral courage would not be such a rarity.