Dear Editor,
I once heard someone refer to these high-tech multi-feature cell phones as the book of good and evil. No one can deny the quantum leap in mass communication and the lightning speed dissemination of information globally. Gadgets, cell phones, smart phones, iPhones, tablets, iPads and a host of others have taken over the world like a plague. It is unthinkable that there exists a country that hasn’t been affected by them. This is the world in which we live today, a fantastic development which we can’t wish away.
I tell you these gadgets are like magic; almost anything that can be imagined could be done by them; they are programmed to the last detail on almost every topic. The operative word is download – by the way, they are programmed with one called ‘Siri’ who answers all your questions. Not so long ago a brother in all delight displayed to a few of us the volume of raw pornography on his phone which he informed us he didn’t pay one blind cent for; he just sat playing around with it and boom! up they came. As I looked I couldn’t help thinking that these gadgets, valuable as they are, have gone well beyond their purpose of meaningful service, and in many instances are more of an opiate. Many are now slaves to having the world exposed to them at their fingertips; there’s no holding back, and all kinds of everything, including some of the most unspeakable and ungodly things are presented. And our pre-teen children are all exposed to them. To make matters worse they are the ones more in tune with these gadgets; they are little wizards, some far ahead of us and on top of the game.
Editor, I tell you, some of what I saw was evidence of deranged, wacky minds at work. The things you see being indulged in cannot be sane, but they are the kind of vomit our children are being fed ‒ filth, garbage, trash, refuse. I guess this is what perdition is, and maybe these behaviours are more X-rated than what goes on in hell. The million- dollar question is how do we prevent the minds of our infants from being systematically polluted? How can we avoid them feeding from this technological trough of debauchery? The craving to keep up, keep abreast and march to the beat of the advanced world has us in a plight. How do we straddle the world of progress and development alongside the filth within the package? How does it serve us, or help us to become better people? Is it necessary for our survival?
I heard someone say that one positive of these high-tech phones is that they keep our young people occupied and out of trouble! Boy, he failed to see that their obsession is not so much for positive elevation but moreso for being a participant feeding off a wellspring of orgies. As said above, our children are light years ahead of us, and with a touch of the finger they can make fools of us. Yes, all these fancy gadgets – which by the way are changing with every sunset ‒ that we show off and feel proud of and privileged that we can acquire at any cost, boast about their infinite features, but sadly those include less elevating features.
Editor, I’m not making a claim to be self-righteous. If those sexually perverted videos were only within the reach of grown adults, then maybe there would not have been the need for much concern, but the space they inhabit is so pervasive that even when casually playing around, an accidental touch and they are in your face. This is what the brother said happened to him, and the floodgates of wanton carnal bombardment were flung open. This is the mental poison that defiles and deforms the minds of our children.
Caleb Carr author of the Alienist gave a quote from William James: “Whilst part of what we perceive comes through our senses from the objects before our eyes, another part (and this may be the larger part) always comes out of our own minds.”
Yours faithfully,
Frank Fyffe
