In the 21st century the internet is more present than ever. Children and people now growing up now, are growing up with the internet and don’t know a life without one. We believe that the internet is a private and safe place for us to be on. A light was shone on this recently when Edward Snowden released documents regarding the privacy of an internet user. With these documents people can now see how their privacy is being invaded everyday. One surprising piece of information shared is that the government is tracking all calls coming in and going out of the USA. Snowden said “People should be able to pick up the phone and to call their family,people should be able to send a text message to their loved ones [...] without wondering about how these events are going to look to an agent of the government” (Snowden). The novel 1984 by George Orwell shows how far the government can invade our privacy if they are not stopped. When Snowden revealed the documents to the public it stopped the slow overtaking of the government always looking into our private lives. In 1984 the government has overtaken the private lives of everyone in society. The fear of Big Brother constantly watching them has become of permeant part of everyone's lives. Winston says “There was no way of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment” (4-5 Orwell). This constant fear of being watched will become more present in our everyday lives if we don’t take action like Snowden to show the world how little privacy we really have.
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“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty" - Albert Einstein
This quotation discusses how in human nature it is important for people to be appreciated by those close to them. In the short story The Shining Houses and the movie Inception both of main characters face a challenge of wanting to be appreciated. The Shining Houses takes place in the 1960’s where Mary is trying to find her way in the changing society. The people in Mary’s town are trying to get a house torn down and they do this by getting people to sign a petition. When Mary is asked to sign, she hesitates before saying no. Since Mary is a women she is being influenced by those around her one the way she should act. Mary is trying to balance being independent and a housewife. When Mary says no she fears that she will be overstepping a line. If she oversteps the line, she will no longer be appreciated by those close to her because her opinion is different. In Inception Fischer's dreams are invaded by Cobb and his team. They do this to plant an idea in Fischer’s mind. The idea that Fischer’s father doesn’t want him to continue with the company. Since Fischer doesn’t have a good relationship with his father they must enter his mind so they can make Fischer think that his father does appreciate him. When Fischer wakes up from his dream he will want to end the company because he believes that his father wants him to end it. When Fischer wakes up he thinks that his father appreciates his so he wants to do what makes him happy. People will do anything to be appreciated by those close to them. In The Large Ant by Howard Fast, Mr. Morgan kills a large ant while on a fishing trip. The ant was larger than any ant he has seen before, “fourteen, fifteen inches long.” Mr. Morgan becomes curious about the creature and contacts a museum in hopes to learn more about the ant. When he reaches the museum Fitzgerald says that he “killed it because [Mr. Morgan is] a human being.” Fitzgerald says that in human nature to kill and we can’t change that. I believe that it is in human nature to not always kill but it becomes our one of our first instincts when put into a situation that fears us. When we are in a problem, we face it with the fight or flight mentality. The flight mentality is when we run away from the situation so we don’t need to worry about it. When we choose to fight, we choose to solve the problem. Solving the problem may lead us to talk it out or when we are in a situation that we fear, we may choose to kill it. In The Large Ant Mr. Morgan chooses the fight mentality when he faces his problem. Since the ant scared Mr. Morgan he chooses to kill it because he doesn’t know what else he can do. So, I agree with Fitzgerald that humanity is violent because violence is seen as a quick solution to some of our problems. I don’t agree that we are incapable of changing that because there are other ways to fix our problems that we can see first.
Bradbury and Asimov are warning us about the advancements in technology and the changes in society that are caused by it. They are saying that as technology changes people will become more depended on it so, more advanced things can be created. Once people become too dependent on technology, society adapts to these major changes. Society adapts by creating computers and robots that can be put into leadership roles. If people think that a robot can do a better job in the work than a person than they will be replaced. For example, in the stories the police officers are replaced by robotic cars that can arrest people and teachers are replaced by at home computers for school. We are seen as different if we do not depend on technology to help us with our daily needs and tasks. In the future we will depend more on technology and we will become obsessed with having it in our lives. We will not be able to function without technology. People will be seen as different if they do not use technology for everything in their life. So, as technology advances society will advance with it.
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January 2018
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