December 12, 2007

Real independence may not be desirable

By Stan Dyer

I saw a modern, independent man today. With an ipod in one ear and a blue tooth in the other, he clacked away on his laptop while engaging in phone conversation with persons unknown. Then, in a matter of moments, he was off. He quickly packed up his belongings and headed for a hybrid SUV, and, from there, maybe to a Starbucks, to a McDonald's, to a mall or just to a home miles away.

Like so many other people these days, he seems to paint the perfect picture of independence; able to control so many aspects of his life so easily. Wireless communication helps him keep track of the pulse of the world, modern transportation helps him keep within a short trip of anywhere he wants to go, and both help him acquire what he needs with minimal effort, thanks to the expansion of capitalism. At first glance, it does look like the perfect picture of independence, but is this independence real or just illusory? Is he, or any others like him, just as independent without their labor-saving devices, their money and their stores? As the list of modern, labor-saving devices expands, our dependence on them expands as well. I watched the nameless man drive away, and my mind was drawn back to the early days of this country and life in colonial times with fewer such devices, fewer dollars, and fewer stores. It was a life with different illusions.

Communication was much slower in those days,(they didn't have DSL and cable modems). There were no phones, (except maybe two cans connected with a piece of string). Their internet was town gossip engaged in by nosy women and snooty men who made it their business to know everyone else's business. They didn't even have real computers, (I think they all used Commodore 64s). People like Benjamin Franklin were still trying to figure out uses for electricity beyond lighting the skies during thunderstorms and burning down random buildings. As for Starbucks and McDonald's, despite their ubiquitous nature today, they, too, did not exist in colonial times, (if you can believe that!). Fast food back then took many months to grow, unless you were a skilled hunter. The SUVs of the time were wagons drawn by horses for the fortunate folks, but most travel was done by foot and a majority of people never travelled much further than 20 miles from their places of birth in their entire lifetime. Even the famous message of independence delivered to King George III in 1776, took quite a while to cross the ocean and reach its destination. Everything coming and going between the two continents went by ship, thus CNN was unable to cover the event. The two worlds were very different except that, then, as now, many people couldn't read or refused to do so. I wonder if the colonists really knew what they were getting into when they declared their independence, or if they realized the country was already as independent as it would ever be?

Theirs was an agrarian lifestyle and a lifestyle that would predominate the country into the 20th century. People lived off the land and the bounty of mother nature. They made their own food, their own clothes, their own furniture, and just about anything else they needed. It was admirable, but, slowly, the industrial age began to catch up, and many people, seduced by an ever growing array of modern conveniences, lost the skills of independence passed down through generations of survivors. Even the Native Americans, who were the best at providing for themselves from what nature provided, fell victim to the dependence created by industrial independence, and the surge of technology. What were once innovations and modern conveniences soon became things people could not live without. Do you ever wonder what would happen today if we couldn't buy everything we needed from the store? What if electricity suddenly were unavailable, if there were no gasoline, if the supermarkets, restaurants, and fast food distributors all ceased to exist? Could people easily give up the luxuries, conveniences and independence our modern society provides? Now, there's a nightmare for you. Yet, there is little doubt in my mind that this country could survive, and continue to thrive. What other choice would there be?

The strong certainly would adapt, (even if grudgingly), and life would continue on. When your choices become that limited, it becomes easier to select options, even if you don't want to. Few people want to think about it, and most never do. Nonetheless, thinking about that real independence, life as we know it and any worse case scenario, makes the whole idea of independence take on a different meaning. It sure makes this American feel lucky. It is not necessarily a bad thing to have independence so readily available " deus ex machina", but it should never be mistaken for "real" independence. Now that we have all experienced the "good life" and, thus, "eaten from the tree of the fruit of knowledge", real independence doesn't seem that desirable at all. The illusion of independence is much easier to live with than the reality. As for me, call it what you like, but hand me those car keys and point me toward Starbucks. Even if it is just the illusion of independence, to me, it's still better than plowing a field.