Saturday, January 16, 2010
rEVOLUTION or bust: Changes that move us in some kind of direction
History is packed with one revolution after another. Revolution for freedom, rights, votes, equality, you name it. Revolting is what we do as humans. We recognize an injustice and fight until we attain a satisfying result. Are we ever satisfied with a particular result, I’m not sure? I guess it’s a matter of perspective. Today, new kinds of revolution are changing everything we know about literacy, communication, and even the world we live in. As the rich get richer and our computers get smarter we must recognize that these revolutions, whether negative or positive, are part of our evolution as a thinking being. These revolutions are significations of our move into something beyond what we know. This move is and will continue to affect our composition classrooms and standing aside is not an option. But whether the right answer is to move with or against the grain is still left to be seen. Unfortunately, more often than not, our only option is to move with these revolutions—accepting this inevitable evolution in thought, society, and communication.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Lucy: "Ricky - Ethel and I are Revolting."
Ricky: "You sure got that right..."
[http://instantrimshot.com]
On the real, though; I'm intrigued by the need we have to constantly frame things in terms of "revolution." The implication is that there are groups with competing interests aiming to achieve some form of social justice - and I suppose that's always true. However, when it comes to contemporary American society, the idea of "revolution" is always tinged (for me, at least) with a certain self-defeatism. Despite our best efforts as the "blogosphere," we are utterly unable to effect even the most basic checks or balances in our own tax-informed "bailout" of the very banks which have (again without our consent or ability to prevent it) taken the money and given each other massive "bonuses." This kind of overt flaunting of the vast divide between the haves and have-nots gives the word "revolution" a tone of mockery - sad, tongue-in-cheek awareness of our own disconnection with the "Powers that Be" as a citizenry that is over-informed, underrepresented, and miseducated. Guess that clarifies our position as the very people responsible for their education though, dunnit?
It seems that whatever the intent of bloggers, internet visionaries, or whatever you want to call them, there will always be those who don't latch on to the message, don't agree with the message, or in most cases with a technologically based message (such as blogs, podcasts, or whatever else), simply lack access. As those with an agenda and a message to spread push increasingly towards new technologies, the audience inherently shrinks. It's kind of like advertising home mortgages during Saturday morning cartoons.
Post a Comment