tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89059535241214624772024-03-13T11:06:14.075-07:00luddite.comChellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-5819205020152094942012-10-31T10:52:00.000-07:002012-11-13T15:54:53.518-08:00I: “I am a Luddite” <br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8905953524121462477" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8905953524121462477" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Native peoples in
earlier centuries were stymied when they tried to talk about the European
conquest; their pre-Columbian vocabularies had no words to describe such a
battering. And it’s like that
again. You and I can only peg together
language to describe the invasion overwhelming our bodies, psyches, and
cultures by technology. And that
assault, taken together with the economic/political institutions that fuel it,
is swiftly diminishing life’s future on this Earth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Back in
the 1980’s and ‘90’s, I thought I had a few words. I was part of a society of activists and
thinkers collaborating to refurbish the analysis of technology that the
original resisters against industrialism, the Luddites, had initiated. We were a lively collection of folks from
countries all over the world. Theodore
Roszak. Kirkpatrick Sale. Vandana Shiva. John Mohawk.
Gustavo Esteva. Stephanie Mills. Helena Norberg-Hodge. Langdon Winner. Godfrey Reggio. David Suzuki.
Jerry Mander. Chet Bowers. Beth Burrows.
Satish Kumar. Charlene
Spretnak. Sigmund Kvaloy. Susan Griffin. Teddy Goldsmith. Now,<i> we</i>
knew how to talk. Sitting together
around conference tables at five-day meetings that boasted such titles as
“Mega-technology and Development” and “Mega-technology and Economic
Globalization,” we proclaimed that the “new technologies that were coming”
would wreak a havoc grander in scale than even the industrial revolution had
wrought.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">But <i>what were we expecting</i>? It wouldn’t affect us? Did we think we would go on meeting in
luscious locations to spin our theories?
Write a white paper or two? Give
a rally speech? Hang on to our land
lines? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I’ll be
frank: we didn’t think <i>anything</i>. We couldn’t.
We had no way to imagine. No
vision. No words other than
“supercomputer,” “satellite communications,” “genetic engineering,”
“transnational corporation.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">And so
that cadre of stellar minds fell through the unforeseen cracks that gashed open
when tectonic plates of political/economic/technological proportion clanked
apart like iron. Most got a computer and
a cell phone. Some landed the grant
monies they were seeking and clicked into the focus of a more manageable
pursuit. And more than one insisted
that, for strategic purposes, we not speak of technology any more. And then that ever-so-brightly rising star of
resistance -- paralleling one that had begun two centuries before during a comparable
siege -- shot into a glorious sky, only to burn away. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Plutonium pit. Packbot.
Prostate cancer. Broken
back. Brain tumor. Beached whales. Wasting elk.
Whiplash. WiMAX. iPod.
Oil tanker. Iraq. The biggest shopping mall on the planet. The tallest skyscraper. Scrape.
Save. Spend. Crave.
Credit card. Debit card. Macromind.
Multiple sclerosis. Melting ice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The concerned will
rave about war, poverty, oil depletion, and climate upheaval – as well they
should. Some venture to name racism,
capitalism, empire; cruelty and greed can be high on the list. But technology’s role in shaping these same
tragedies handily slips from the perceptual gaze. Despite all and still, the notion of
technological development is linked in the popular mind to “progress,”
“advancement,” “evolution.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">And
fear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“I WANT
MY MAMMOGRAM!” shrieks a radio listener like a child. The tantrum occurs on a talk show during my
1990 book tour for <i>When Technology Wounds</i>. Also like a child, the woman carries zero
awareness of likely precedents to her susceptibility to breast cancer: like
synthetic hormones and pesticides. Or
the radiation from last year’s mammogram.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
inherent disjuncture of mass society does not propagate the kind of thinking
that would unify the parts of the whole.
It severs instead. It
fragments. It scatters – and lays ground
for engaging and defending only one fragment at a time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BOM0QrzkzRA/UJrpbAhDh-I/AAAAAAAAAFo/WDExu_F5XfU/s1600/Wendell-Berry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BOM0QrzkzRA/UJrpbAhDh-I/AAAAAAAAAFo/WDExu_F5XfU/s320/Wendell-Berry.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: justify;">Wendell Berry </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;">“I am a
Luddite!” Such was the scandalous
proclamation Wendell Berry bellowed at the first official gathering of our new
generation of technology critics. San
Francisco was the place, 1993 the year. </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">For the
time, the statement was heretical. Since
the rebellion (and demise) of the original Luddites at the launch of the
industrial revolution some 180 years earlier, this new wave had been
constrained by an intellectual context forged by the winners of the earlier
conflict: the term “Luddite” had been made into a dirty word, a put-down, a
brazen denigration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Everyone burst with laughter –-
Wendell was, as always, preposterously right-on -– and everyone breathed in
relief. A deep-seated taboo had
irretrievably been broken: without further excuse we were going to be who we
were. To boot, our work -- which up
until that moment had been conducted solo -- could move forward enriched by
interaction among a worthy collection of hearts and minds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> A
small flurry of activity followed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Well,
OK: our actions got swept up in the onrush of media attention the Unabomber was
getting. In 1995, in an attempt to
bargain with mail-bombing Ted Kaczynski, the <i>New York Times</i> and <i>Washington
Post</i> published his manifesto, “Industrial Society and Its Future.” Fortuitously, Kirk’s <i>Rebels</i> <i>against the Future</i>
rode this event like a wrangler on a small bull and, in the process, gave
readers a glimpse into the long-repressed details of Luddite history. The Jacques Ellul Society was born, named for
the French sociologist who had so brilliantly critiqued technological
society. One of our group, biologist
Martha Crouch, quit the university in protest against its collaboration with
biotech corporations. Others took on the
fight against bio-specting in Yellowstone National Park. A few stalwart researchers tried to reveal
the negative impacts threatened by the entry of computers into education. Stephanie, Kirk, and I regaled a
standing-room-only audience in New York City with our theatrical performance <i>Interview with a</i> <i>Luddite,</i> and we all spoke copiously on the radio.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">At the
same time other thinkers and activists –- alternative-technology inventors,
Native and land-based peoples favoring traditional livelihoods,
monkey-wrenchers, anarchists, and modern rebels against the future –- were
challenging technology with their own words and acts. Some dedicated anarchists tore down high-voltage
power lines in the American West and liberated lab animals from science
experiments; environmentalists draped tall buildings with pro-Earth banners;
and a group of simple-living advocates in Ohio put out a hand-set magazine
called <i>Plain</i> and threw gatherings for
contemporary Luddites, to which they exhorted everyone to travel on foot,
buggy, or train. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
upshot: the proclamation “I am a Luddite” re-entered the vernacular. And none too soon, we suspected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">What we
were referring to as the “new technologies” in the early ‘90s have by now facilitated
not only the emergence of a global economic order whose means and goals are
corporate dominion, ecological ransacking, and mass consumption; they have
infused our very rhythms, thought patterns, and identities. Indeed, the upheavals we are enduring are
equal in scope and magnitude to those that swept through the early-19th
century. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Then:
the destruction of the commons. The
break-up of village life, wild spaces, the family. The separation of work from meaning, city
from country, luxury from misery. The
creation of slums. Child labor. Environmental illness. Theories of progress, inevitability,
utilitarianism, laissez faire. The
budding of rebellious but deeply conservative thoughts in the work of Keats,
Shelley, Lord Byron, Charles Dickens.
The melding of machine with discontent, radical politics with rusticity,
hope with passion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Today:
global warming, climate upheaval, economic collapse. The microwaving of the planet. The demise of the last wild places left. The exhaustion of oil reserves. The rise of the richest class of individuals
in history -– with a parallel fall in quality of life for everyone else. Environmental refugees. Species extinctions. Build-up of nuclear, biological, and
electromagnetic weaponry. The
continuation of rebellious but deeply conservative thoughts. The melding of cyberspace with violence,
radical politics with marginalism, passion with desperation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">And is
not today’s world that teeters so precariously on its cliff of demise the
extension of economic and social patterns that were made painfully evident some
two centuries ago? Is not the
resistance mounted by courageous bands of weavers, foresters, and villagers in
Europe and the United States -– and the systemic analysis they offered -- as
relevant <i>now</i> as they once were?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">My presence at the
1993 gathering of contemporary Luddites began three decades before in a lecture
hall at U.C. Berkeley. It was in
Professor Allen Temko’s class on the history of the city that I first
encountered the ideas of Lewis Mumford.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2968OwTwP7U/UJrrj_fzFLI/AAAAAAAAAF4/aeEu2S5vxhg/s1600/Mumford-portra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2968OwTwP7U/UJrrj_fzFLI/AAAAAAAAAF4/aeEu2S5vxhg/s320/Mumford-portra.jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: justify;">Lewis Mumford</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">My
God! When I read his words, I had to
stop every three or four paragraphs and breathe just to contain my
excitement. His aim was to merge the
intellectual with the passionate, the lofty with the earthy –- and this he
did. To the hilt. Born in 1895 and growing up at a time when
Americans were swelling with pride over the streamlined possibilities of mass
mechanistic society, when “science” and “democracy” appeared to be ushering in
a permanent era of peace and prosperity, he pierced through the veneer to
reveal the deepest patterns of a civilization in trouble.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">What
stunned –- and inspired -- me was his sweep of vision. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Mumford
asserted against all prevailing belief that the centerpiece of the cult of
“progress” -- technology -- did not lie at the dividing line between our animal
ancestry and the first sparks of human consciousness; art, music, ritual, and
language did.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%201.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> “I have taken life itself to be the primary
phenomenon, and creativity, rather than ‘the conquest of nature,’” he wrote, “as
the ultimate criterion of man’s biological and cultural success.”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%201.doc#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In his
two-part ‘Myth of the Machine’ series, Mumford described progress as “a
scientifically dressed up justification” for practices the ruling classes had
used since the time of the pharaohs to congeal and perpetrate power.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%201.doc#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> He identified the Megamachine as the central
theme of Western society: a social
construction built upon absolutism, centralization, mechanization,
regimentation, militarism, genocide, biocide, spectacle, and alienation – with
attendant loss of the very qualities the species had developed through
evolution: autonomy, human scale,
spontaneity, diversity, communalism, and participation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Displaying
a moral indignation that bucked the overarching assumptions of the times, he
spoke of the potency of the Megamachine’s grasp upon the popular mind: “The
wonder is … that the hopeful dream has remained alive for so long, for some of
its original luminosity still dazzles and blinds the eyes of many of our
contemporaries who continue to pursue the same archaic fantasies.”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%201.doc#_edn4" name="_ednref4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">And he
fortuitously foretold that a “dominant minority” -– the masters of technology
and accumulated wealth –- would create “a uniform, all-enveloping,
super-planetary structure, designed for automatic operation,” just as he
described every-day citizens as “cut off from their own resources for living,
feel(ing) no tie with the outer world unless they are constantly receiving
information, direction, stimulation, and sedation from a central, external
source.”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%201.doc#_edn5" name="_ednref5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">My own
grasp of the dynamics of such a Megamachine was thrust forward by industrial
medicine’s perpetration of birth control.
After two years of suffering chronic yeast infections from the
imbalances generated by synthetic hormones, a physician at Congressional
hearings in 1970 rattled the myelin off my nerves with his proclamation that
The Pill was “the largest experiment” foisted upon unsuspecting human beings in
the history of medicine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Being a
victim of medical technology came with some poignancy: I was the great-granddaughter of the founder
of the Cleveland Clinic and haled from a family whose members had given their
lives to the healing profession. But my
suspicion of allopathic medicine was not yet as deeply rooted as it would
become; still seeking the quick fix, I replaced my packet of chemicals with the
latest pharmaceutical do-dad: the Dalkon Shield Intrauterine Device. And sure enough, with an already depressed
immune system from The Pill, I contracted pelvic inflammatory disease.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">By the time,
in the late 1970’s, I met Jerry Mander in the cafés of San Francisco’s North
Beach and launched into his <i>Four
Arguments for the</i> <i>Elimination of
Television</i>, I was fertile for the all-encompassing analysis he had focused
upon a single technology. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Too, there had been
the vision. It had come as a flash when
I was taking time off from the intensity of anti-war protest in Berkeley to
work on a maple sugar farm in Vermont.
The year was 1970; Earth Day was on the horizon. But more crucial to me, Paul Ehrlich’s
article in the September 1969 issue of <i>Ramparts
</i>magazine -- “Eco-Catastrophe: The End of the Ocean”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%201.doc#_edn6" name="_ednref6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> -- had
jolted my notion of the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“THE
OCEANS,” the cover art proclaimed on a marble headstone inscribed for the
Earth’s seas: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Born:
Circa 3,500,000,000 B.C.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Died:
1979 A.D.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%201.doc#_edn7" name="_ednref7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">On the
farm marvelous insights pushed through the icy drudgery of digging winter
ditches, a by-product of physical work I surmise, as if to bring color to
black-and-white thoughts. Most often it
was a feeling of awe that grew up in me like a crocus through snow. This time though, the insight was a moving
picture that took over my inner world: <i>citizens
storming factories</i>. I didn’t yet
harbor consciousness of the dysfunction of the whole of mass society -- and yet
the kind of mass protest we had engaged in to stop the Vietnam War had morphed
to a prophecy of what might be required to stop destruction by technology. Just as my reproductive organs were wracked
with disturbances from technical interventions, I was catching glimpses of what
would unfold as the historical textures of my lifetime. The template that would become mine had been
delivered: <i>the personal is political.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;">This blog is a book. Please feel free to read the
next chapter now. Go to the Table of Contents under the introduction on the
right side of the page and click on the next chapter.</span></i></b><br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%201.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Lewis
Mumford, <i>Technics and Civilization</i>.
NY: Harcourt Brace, 1934.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%201.doc#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Lewis
Mumford, <i>The Myth of the Machine: The
Pentagon of Power</i>. NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1970, preface.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%201.doc#_ednref3" name="_edn3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Lewis
Mumford, “Prologue to our Time,” <i>The New
Yorker</i>, March 10, 1975, p.45.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn4">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%201.doc#_ednref4" name="_edn4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Lewis
Mumford, <i>The Myth of the Machine: The
Pentagon of Power</i>, p. 7.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn5">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%201.doc#_ednref5" name="_edn5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Lewis Mumford,
<i>The Myth of the Machine: The Pentagon of
Power</i>, p. 352, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Ill.</st1:state></st1:place>
14-15 (between pp. 180-181).</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn6">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%201.doc#_ednref6" name="_edn6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Paul Ehrlich,
“Eco-Catastrophe: The End of the Ocean,”<i>
Ramparts</i>, Vol. 8 No. 3, September 1969, pp. 24-28.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn7">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%201.doc#_ednref7" name="_edn7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Jeffrey
Gholson, cover photograph, <i>Ramparts</i>,
September 1969.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-7107197899800691162012-10-28T14:20:00.000-07:002012-11-13T16:13:45.331-08:00II: a ritual for despair<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">For peoples in
earlier times, the gestalt of inwardness/externality had been a blending of
birth, clan, wildness, creatures, stars, and vibrancy. For us, the task of re-connecting the
disparate fragments and re-assembling the whole more resembles traipsing
through a junkyard littered by disaster, picking up our feet so as to avoid the
neon pools of caustic fluid and ragged metal edges. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Plutonium. Packbot.
Prostate Cancer. Brain
Tumor. Beached Whales. Wasting Elk.
The Biggest Shopping Mall in the World.
The Tallest Skyscraper. Scrape
Save Spend Crave. Credit Card Debit
Card. Melting Ice. Spaceport. Airport.
So The Animals Die.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I devoured Jerry
Mander’s book on television and found myself conceptually clawing my way up
between the cracks of the psychic numbing and denial that had paralyzed
post-WWII America. Suddenly the hills of
San Francisco looked more awe-inspiring to me, the espresso machines in North
Beach sounded frothier, the world felt more alive: I could see the formidable
place technology’s development had played in human history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";"> Two public events
thrust my nascent aliveness into action.
The first was Three Mile Island.
The second was U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s break</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> from
previous Cold War policies of containment into reckless tirades against the
“Evil Empire.” At the same time, an
inner event jarred me with its echo of the outer crisis. It was a dream delivering a ritual for
containing human emotion in the face of possible annihilation. I described it in an article first published
in 1980 in <i>New Age Journal</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">That week as the
nuclear power station in Pennsylvania teetered on the edge of meltdown I --
residing 2000 miles away in San Francisco -- experienced the intensity of
feeling I might were the plant in my backyard. By day I darted from radio to
newspaper to television, consuming every word of every report as if my life
depended on it. At night I lay half-asleep/half-awake feeling myself hanging
from the slenderest of threads, dangling in space with no support, no Mommy, no
Daddy, no help.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tsRCfh_CLTA/UJrzC_fnf4I/AAAAAAAAAGI/xJEvQhMPefk/s1600/1302330010_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tsRCfh_CLTA/UJrzC_fnf4I/AAAAAAAAAGI/xJEvQhMPefk/s320/1302330010_0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In those
days the topic of the danger of nuclear technology was taboo, and to speak of
it -- even as a nuclear power plant neared meltdown -- was denied. I steered my
own course, scrupulously acknowledging each feeling that bubbled up inside me. Fear.
Anger. Despair. Grief. Surrender. Urgency. As I did, I became aware that just
as emotional patterns we manifest in adult life mirror mechanisms developed at
an earlier age, so these feelings harkened back to an earlier era. For the first time in almost 20 years, I was
experiencing a sense of universally impending danger. This time its catalyst
was an industrial accident, but the long repressed material -- laced with
memories of grade-school bomb drills, the day the Russians exploded an H-bomb, the
Cuban Missile Crisis -- was the threat of nuclear war.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I had a
number of epiphanies. First of all, techno-historical forces -- from blatant
nuclear technologies to the more insidious environmental contaminators -- have as
potent an impact on our human psyches as do families and early education. A second realization was that no matter what
political, economic, or social categories divide us, we humans are united in
our insecurity before such forces. A third: a crucial aspect of ensuring human
continuity is psychological. Not only is our predicament human-invented, but on
the other side of the taboo against having thoughts or feelings about it lies
the psychic wisdom we might use to mobilize for survival. Fourth: since both
insecurity and the task to survive are shared, addressing our unconscious and
conscious relationship to them would best proceed, not in the relative
isolation of a psychotherapy session, but in the mutually supportive context of
a group. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I decided
to dedicate myself to the task of providing such a context.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8905953524121462477" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8905953524121462477" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">My first
opportunity came in June. I was scheduled to give a plenary at a woman’s mental
health conference. I wanted to design an experiential presentation that might
affect participants on three levels. By raising awareness of our predicament,
it could be educational. By crossing the taboo against expressing feelings, it
could provide a model of vulnerability in the Nuclear Age. Last, by making
conscious our internal relationship to the situation, it could catalyze psychic
shifts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">But there
was a problem. Despite the fact that I had been giving workshops for years, I
was stumped. If, as social scientists and philosophers are saying, the Nuclear
Age confronts Western peoples with the necessity for altering the very
foundations of how we perceive, the fact that the form of the plenary came to
me in a dream could suggest that what lies ahead may well exist at the edge of
collective consciousness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The form
was not a conventional group therapy or workshop session: it was a ritual.
This development seemed noteworthy because so many rituals provided by modern
society have lost their abilities to teach and transform us and because, if we
are to forge the kind of reconnection with our psyches, each other, and our
planet, we may have to create rituals that speak to us and through us of the
peril, pain, and promise of our times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I called
the plenary "Environmental Ritual." It consisted of three concentric
circles formed by the participants. The outer circle was to be the Circle of
Information, a place for safe witnessing and reporting. The next circle was the
Circle of Fear and Rage; the innermost one, the Circle of Sorrow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">To begin,
all participants were to stand in the outer circle. Anyone could start by expressing
a feeling or thought, personal or shared, about our common plight. "My
father was on the clean-up crew in Hiroshima and he’s dying of leukemia."
"The fish in Lake Michigan
have cancer!" "I feel scared." Then, to provide affirmation of
the truth of this statement, everyone in the circle would say: "So It Is." Since it is
terrifying to confront the experience of living in an endangered world, we
would then invoke a technique used in spiritual practices: to build bridges
among ourselves and to that which is bigger than us all, we would chant an
agreed-upon phrase. Then a second person would express a thought or feeling,
and the ritual would proceed. The only requirement was that each move to the
circle that best reflected her current state, be that fear, anger, grief,
calmness, or observation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Concentric
circles are archetypal forms, but the concepts driving the ceremony derived
from influences in my own experience. One was the work of Dr. Elisabeth
Kubler-Ross,<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%202.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> with
whom I had studied. Called griefwork, her approach to the psychology of death
and dying is essentially an emotional passage past denial and through the
anger, depression, fear, and sorrow that the prospect of dying elicits. By
embarking upon such a process, the dying and their loved ones can arrive at an
acceptance of death -- and a new sense of what it means to be alive. Like this
process, the ritual provides an arena for participants to move beyond denial
of the possibility of collective death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">A
difference between facing individual death and this collective one is that in
this situation we do not know the outcome. We do not know if more bombs will
explode. We do not know how strong are the forces of life to counteract the
poisons already spread around the globe from bomb-making, bomb-testing, and un-ecological
practices. Another difference is that in this situation all people are facing
the prospect of death simultaneously. As we face it together, we lose our sense
of isolation, and our hitherto unexpressed experience is invoked, spoken, and
acknowledged in community. A final difference is that since the menace is
human-made, acceptance is not of
the inevitability of nuclear war or ecological disaster, but rather of our
shared responsibility to do what we can to stop them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">A second
influence derived from China: "speaking bitterness," a practice used
by peasants to heal the pain of injustice and inspire participation in social
change. A Westernized version of this is feminist consciousness-raising. Both
set up a conduit for individuals to deal with psychological problems caused by
social realities. Both serve as interventions in the immobilization of
individuals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">A last
influence in the creation of the Environmental Ritual was my experience with
ceremony. Because the rituals I had been performing focused on the relationship
of modern industrial people to nature, I had often seen sorrow, anger, fear,
and longing -- but it was not until the Environmental Ritual that I linked
their expression to harness them towards social change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">That morning
in 1979, 150 women gathered in a rustic clearing. I explained the origins,
purpose, and procedure of the ritual: I asked participants to speak their minds
about what is happening to us because we live in the Nuclear Age.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Hesitancy
stilled each woman in the circle. Expressing feelings about nuclear war or
ecological disaster was an unheard-of thing to do. Finally, one brave soul
stepped forward and announced that she had suffered a miscarriage she believed
was caused by environmental pollution. Another called out that she had been
having nightmares about fallout shelters. A third told us that her mother had
worked on atomic tests in Nevada, had eaten pork from live pigs roasted by a
blast, and was now dead. By the end of the two-hour session 150 people were
pounding their fists together, sobbing, and holding one another. We felt outraged, afraid and sad, and as we
realized how connected we are by the fate that hangs over us, a fourth circle
spontaneously formed -- one of kinship and commitment. The ritual completed
itself when a woman placed her nine-month-old child in the center of the
circle, and we held hands to sing. (1980)<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%202.doc#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .3pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Hope?! Kinship? Commitment?
What a starkly different world we inhabit today. Packbot.
Prostate. Twin Towers. I am struggling with how to apply ordinary
words to the totality of this high-tech/high-anxiety/high-calamity world we now
inhabit. Indeed, the changes that have
occurred do top those that ravaged the world through the industrial
revolution. Stephanie Mills puts it this
way: “The front has lengthened, almost
to infinity.”<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%202.doc#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.3pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<b style="text-align: start;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">This blog is a book. Please feel free to read the next chapter now. Go to the Table of Contents under the introduction on the right side of the page and click on the next chapter.</span></i></b><br />
<br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%202.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Elisabeth
Kubler-Ross, <i>On Death and Dying</i>. <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>: Macmillan,
1969; <i>Death: Final Stage of Growth</i>. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Englewood</st1:place></st1:city> Cliffs NJ:
Prentice-Hall, 1975.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%202.doc#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Adapted
from Chellis Glendinning, “Beyond Private Practice: An Approach to Mental
Health in the Nuclear Age,” in Kenneth Porter MD, et al., eds., <i>Heal or Die: Psychotherapists Confront
Nuclear Annihilation</i>. <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>:
The Psychohistory Press, 1987; first appeared as “A Ritual for Despair,” <i>New Age</i>, Vol. 6 No. 5, November 1980,
pp.52-53.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%202.doc#_ednref3" name="_edn3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Stephanie
Mills, email communication, Maple City MI to Chimayó NM, February 6, 2008.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-75927893325240402902012-10-27T10:54:00.000-07:002012-11-13T15:56:12.089-08:00III: technology heroes <br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .3pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I first laid eyes on Andy Hawkinson in a dimly-lit
hotel ballroom in downtown Berkeley. The
year was 1984. The National Association
of Radiation Survivors was holding the first of what would become its annual
congress, drawing together atomic veterans, uranium miners, down winders, and
lab workers for collective support and the pursuit of remediation. I was rounding the cardboard display of
photos of survivors in their various locales of contamination and stages of
radiation-related illness. I leaned in
to squint at a shot of a stocky veteran -- he had a pinkish pock-marked face
and thin blonde hair -- and then I refocused my eyes to the people viewing the
display. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .3pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">There he stood. He was a fast-talking man with the spirit of
a giant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .3pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“At this point what do I
believe in?” he said to me. “<i>Nothing.</i> Who advises me? <i>Nobody</i> advises me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .3pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Andy had been a military
policeman with the U.S. Army in 1957, assigned to Eniwetok Atoll in the
Marshall Islands. Between 1948 and 1956,
22 nuclear bombs had been exploded there, including Edward Teller’s infamous
15-megaton hydrogen bomb. “I lived at
Ground Zero,” he explained -- and yet the Army never warned him. He discovered his contamination 20 years
later when a <i>People</i> magazine article about two survivors of Eniwetok
harboring his same slew of mysterious ailments -- cataracts, blindness, heart
attacks, internal bleeding -- led him to research what had happened.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .3pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I met other survivors: Navajo
uranium miner Phil Harrison; atomic vets Ricardo Candelaria and Gilberto
Quintana; Japanese-American Roy Kimura who had traveled to Hiroshima to search
for relatives after the bombing; Dr. Dorothy Legarreta who, having filed a
Freedom of Information Act request on human radiation experiments and was about
to complete a book on the subject, inexplicably “drove off” a California
highway to her death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .3pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">What struck me was the
similarity between their experiences of contamination and deteriorating health
and that of survivors of contraceptive technologies like myself, and so I
attempted to draw such links in 1990 in a book called <i>When Technology Wounds</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .3pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">A person’s sense of meaning in life is central to
psychological health. The cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker calls the
significance we infuse into life our “hero system.” It consists, first, of a
belief system and, second, of a means to enact that belief system. To Becker it
is immaterial whether one’s hero system guides one to perform bold acts or to
earn a living; what is important is that it gives a person a feeling of value,
usefulness, or connection to forces greater than one’s self -- of heroism.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%203.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.3pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Most
technology survivors lose all or part of their hero system. Long-standing beliefs
about themselves and the world can shatter into irretrievable fragments — and
one's identity can be the first to go. Psychologist Benina Berger Gould
experienced a loss of sexual identity when she underwent an emergency
hysterectomy. After having a family, Benina was advised to wear the Dalkon
Shield and Copper-7 IUDs. She developed severe pelvic pains, which were
diagnosed as endometriosis (and later, in surgery, found not to be). To treat
the condition, a doctor prescribed massive artificial hormones. She developed
what was diagnosed as a cyst which, the doctor asserted, would explode in her
abdomen if she didn’t have a hysterectomy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Her
response to the surgery was a feeling of piercing loss. "I would never
again see that part of me that was female," she recalls. "There was a
hole in my belly. No more cervix." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Another
devastating loss that threatens one's sense of meaning is the ability to have
children. Many technology survivors lose their biological ability to reproduce,
endanger their lives if they do, or endanger the life of the child if they do. Ricardo
Candelaria grew up in the 1930’s in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was a
slow-moving time when people farmed the land, ground corn to make tortillas,
and sold chiles on the street. The core of the tight-knit community was the
family, and Ricardo looked forward to having one of his own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In 1950 he
was proud to be accepted into the U.S. Marine Corps. This was a valued opportunity
in the barrio and perceived as heroic. Ricardo was sent to Yucca Flats, Nevada,
where he was ordered to witness the Ranger atomic test from a foxhole a few
miles away. He describes the experience: "You were supposed to drop down
into the hole, dig yourself in, and put your gas mask on. They told us when the
count reaches zero, the flash would come first — bright blue — and if we wanted
to see it, open one eye. Well, I closed both eyes as tight as I could, but I
still saw that blue light right through my eyelids. They also told us if we
wanted to see the blast, count to 20 before getting up. To be sure, I counted to 30. Then I stood up,
and I saw the mushroom going up, the bright red streamers of fire flying down
from it, and a doughnut of fire billowing out in all directions. That doughnut
was so big -- and it was coming toward us fast.
You could see the heat rising up and the dust forming into a mushroom
pattern in the sky. My mouth fell open. I didn't know what was happening. The
helmet blew off. Then the blast came and threw me against the hole."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">After
waiting for a few hours, the soldiers were ordered to approach what Ricardo
calls "Dead Zero." Then the military technicians detected amounts of
radiation that were too high. The desert soil was black and cracked. Military
equipment placed near the blast site had powdered into the ground. The troops
were ordered to retreat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In 1956
Ricardo discovered that he was sterile. Today he explains with hurt in his
voice: "If I'd have known about the radiation, I wouldn't have gotten into
that trench. I'd have been court-martialed and gone through whatever trial and
punishment they had. If I had to come out of the service with a bad discharge,
okay, but I'd have been a father." His shoulders shaking in sorrow, he
cries: “You don't know how much I wanted a family!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Andy
Hawkinson's confusion as a father centers on the children he did have. "I
don't know if the root of the problem can ever be reached," he says.
"The pain, the suffering, and my perpetuation of that by fathering
children! I was exposed to radiation in 1957, but I didn't know about it until
1977. My daughter just got married, and I wonder: Should I tell her she could
have a deformed baby?"<span style="letter-spacing: .3pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">On top of
losses to one's sense of heroism, faith in the institutions survivors perceive
as responsible for hurting them may be gone as well. Unless pressed to discuss
it, Andy Hawkinson would be the last person to reveal his anguish about the
breach of trust he feels. It is too painful. When he went into the Army in
1957, he was a "red-blooded patriotic American boy,” he says. And yet, he
explains: "The Statue of Liberty. Red, White, and Blue. My Country. I have
often asked myself if I had to lose something, in what order of progression
would I be willing to give it up? Well, I would probably sacrifice my mother
first . . . my wife second . . . my children third—before I would ever, ever
sacrifice my country. But then not to experience the same reverse loyalty from
my government when I'm willing to give it so much — this is a rejection I'm not
prepared to handle."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Loss
catalyzes bereavement – and with its pangs of longing, panic, anxiety, anger,
and helplessness. Caught in the turbulence of such all-consuming emotions, Andy
describes his use of denial. "In coping with it all," he says,
"I live a great big lie. I keep telling myself, ‘This isn't a problem,’
'That isn't a problem.' I lie to myself saying, 'Sure, you can handle it.' But
periodically something ruptures and I have to live through another trauma. Then
I get back on my merry-go-round of lying until the next episode." <span style="letter-spacing: .3pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">(1990)<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%203.doc#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.3pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div>
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<br />
<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">This blog is a book. Please feel free to read the next chapter now. Go to the Table of Contents under the introduction on the right side of the page and click on the next chapter.</span></i></b><br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
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<br />
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%203.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Ernest
Becker, <i>The Denial of Death</i>. <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>: The Free
Press, 1973, p. 5.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%203.doc#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Adapted
from Chellis Glendinning, <i>When Technology
Wounds: The Human Consequences of Progress</i>. <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>: William Morrow and Company, 1990,
pp. 79-86.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-35741958170438201012012-10-26T16:06:00.000-07:002012-11-13T15:56:51.392-08:00IV: hitting bottom <br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .3pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Plutonium, broken back, debit card … <i>denial</i>. And as they say about denial: it ain’t a
river in Egypt. The defense mechanism
may better be described as the pall the mind casts over realities it cannot
bear to glimpse. Evolutionary psychologists
tell us that a psychic function as slippery as this one aided survival by
greasing the wheels of escape while facing a clawed animal in the
savannah. But today, given that
technological society has rolled like a bulldozer over every blade and tendril
on the planet, the modern-day version -- the chronic, unbreakable, impenetrable
denial that may help one survive the claws of a demanding day, also directs us
toward the demise of <i>everything</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .3pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> I
attempted to put words to this terrible reality in an essay for the Institute
for Policy Studies’ 1993 anthology <i>Technology for the Common Good:</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I met with a young
political activist for conversation last week at my favorite café. The founder
of an anti-war organization during the first Gulf War, this 21-year-old lives
to explore social issues and act on his convictions. His burning question of
the hour concerned technology. "Has television made people less
intelligent?" he <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">wondered, and he
based his conclusion on the deconstructionist dictate that</span> one speak <span style="letter-spacing: .15pt;">only </span>from personal experience. His answer,
"Decidedly not," and <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">indeed this
young man's mental capacity was as substantial and his wit as</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">clever as any I had seen of any age. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.15pt;">But I could not help but notice that even</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> before a quadruple
espresso latte had exploded onto his brain cells, my young friend was ranting
at 120 words-per-minute, vibrating in his seat like a rocket poised for
take-off, and hurling about words like VPL, CDTV, HyperCard, and Macromind. And
answering his own questions in quantum leaps across paradigms unintegrated by
coherent worldview, physical reality, or moral obligation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .05pt;">Like my friend, most of us who inhabit mass technological society find</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> it
difficult to understand technology's impact on social reality, let alone on our
psyches. Like the tiny aerobic bacteria that reside within computer hardware,
we are so entrenched in our technological world that we hardly know it exists. Yet
widespread radioactive contamination, cancer epidemics, oil spills, toxic
leaks, environmental illness, ozone holes, <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">poisoned
aquifers, and cultural and biological extinctions indicate that the</span>
technological construct encasing our every experience, perception, and<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;"> political act stands in dire need of criticism.
Further, such a critique requires</span> integration by a coherent worldview,
physical reality, and moral obligation.<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">Gazing at ourselves from outside our hardware, few of us will be</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">able to deny that we need to reconstruct both our
world and our worldview.</span> Yet not many of us have begun the conversation that
would lay a conceptual framework for such a shift. Instead, we remain trapped
within both <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">hardware and hardware-determined
worldview, and</span> technological development promises to march onward toward
nanotechnology, virtual reality, genetic engineering, biological weapons, and
all kinds of new technologies that will further disrupt ecological balance,
cultural diversity, and psychological well-being.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">I count myself as both technology critic and activist, proudly following</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">in the footsteps of such insightful thinkers as
philosopher Lewis Mumford,</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">sociologist
Jacques Ellul, historian David Noble, political scientist Langdon</span>
Winner, and social critic Jerry Mander.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
The system under observation is mass
technological civilization. As philosopher Martin Heidegger wrote, "We are
questioning concerning technology in order to bring light to our relationship
to its essence.”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <sup> </sup>What is the essence of modern
technology? <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">How does it structure our
lives? Our perceptions? Our politics?
How does</span> it shape our psyches? What does it say about our relationship
to our humanness and to the Earth? Unfortunately, obstacles to answers are
entrenched, like concrete piers at a freeway exchange, in both our social and
psychological reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8905953524121462477" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8905953524121462477" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I
discovered the scope of such obstacles while I was on a promotional tour for my
book <i><span style="letter-spacing: .5pt;">When
Technology Wounds</span></i><span style="letter-spacing: .5pt;">.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
</span>The book is based on a psychological study of technology survivors: people who have become <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">medically ill as a result of exposure to some
health-threatening technology.</span> I interviewed Love Canal residents,
atomic veterans, asbestos workers, DES daughters, electronics plant workers,
Dalkon Shield survivors, homeowners whose groundwater had been contaminated,
Nevada Test Site downwinders, sufferers of cancer, environmental illness,
chronic fatigue immune dysfunction, and many other survivors.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NrWSpPMPB5k/UJr2zvaK-9I/AAAAAAAAAGY/gy1x0ip0f9c/s1600/love+canal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NrWSpPMPB5k/UJr2zvaK-9I/AAAAAAAAAGY/gy1x0ip0f9c/s320/love+canal.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">By all
accounts, this population is on the rise. Forty-one thousand Louisiana
residents are exposed to 3.5 million tons of toxic landfill along the
industrial corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.</span><a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[iv]</span></span></span></a><sup style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 36pt;"> </sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">Thirty </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; text-indent: 36pt;">million U.S. households, or 96 million people, live within 50 miles of a</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; text-indent: 36pt;">nuclear power plant.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn5" name="_ednref5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">[v]</span></span></span></a><sup> </sup>One hundred and
thirty five million residents in 122</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;"> cities and counties breath
consistently polluted air,</span><a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn6" name="_ednref6" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[vi]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
while 250 million American -- everyone of us-- are exposed to 2.6 billion
pounds of pes</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; text-indent: 36pt;">ticides each year, in addition
to all the radioactive fallout ringing the globe</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;"> from Hiroshima,
Chernobyl, and the nuclear test sites in Nevada and Khazakstan.</span><a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn7" name="_ednref7" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[vii]</span></span></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">On the book tour I suggested that since people are getting</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">sick from technological exposure, we had best
enter into an informed</span> conversation about technology. Such a
conversation was not forthcoming. In a debate on Public Radio International
with MIT Professor <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">Marvin Minsky, the
founder of artificial intelligence, I was asked if I had</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">any objections to computers. I expressed concern
that the deadly chemicals</span> used to manufacture computers -- such as
chlorofluorocarbons, <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">diethylamine, lencast, 4,4
isophopylidenediphenol,</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">and
biosphenol A -- contaminate the biosphere. I mentioned Yolanda Lozano,</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">a 36-year-old worker from the GTE plant in
Albuquerque who died of cancer</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">from
chemical e</span>xp<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">osure on the job. In
reply, Professor Minsky quipped, "It</span> doesn't matter.”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn8" name="_ednref8" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Elsewhere
on my tour, the conversation ended before it <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">began.
"Get this woman off the air! She's the stupidest guest you've ever</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">had!" shrieked one talk show listener.</span>”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn9" name="_ednref9" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[ix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><sup><o:p></o:p></sup></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">I
compare today's public awareness of the impacts of</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">technology to that of alcoholism in the 1950’s.
Back then, everybody drank.</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">It was more than socially acceptable to drink; it
was required. Alcoholics</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">Anonymous (AA) was 20 years old and growing, but
still considered</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">an embarrassment.</span>
<sup><o:p></o:p></sup></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.15pt;">It is not a new idea that we who live in mass technological society
suffer</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">
psychological addiction to specific machines like cars, telephones, and <span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">computers, and even to technology itself. But the
picture is bigger and more</span> complex. As social philosopher Morris Berman
says: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Addiction,
in one form or another, characterizes every aspect of industrial society....
Dependence on alcohol (food, drugs, tobacco . . .) is not formally different
from dependence on prestige, career achievement, world in<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">fluence, wealth, the need to build more ingenious
bombs,</span> or the need to exercise control over everything.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn10" name="_ednref10" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[x]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><sup><o:p></o:p></sup></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">The editor of</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <i><span style="letter-spacing: .2pt;">Science</span></i><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">
describes the nation’s dependence on oil as an addiction,<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn11" name="_ednref11" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">[xi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> while Vice President Al
Gore claims that we are addicted</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">to
the consumption of the Earth itself</span>.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn12" name="_ednref12" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> Evolutionary philosopher Gregory</span>
Bateson points out that addictive behavior is consistent with the Western <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">approach to life that pits mind against body and
concludes, "It is doubtful</span> whether a species having <span style="letter-spacing: .5pt;">both </span>an advanced technology <span style="letter-spacing: .5pt;">and </span>this strange [polarized] way of looking
at its world can survive.”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn13" name="_ednref13" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xiii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">T<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">o clarify this notion that contemporary society
itself is based on addic</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">tion, what I
call "techno-addiction," we will do well to turn to the pioneers</span>
<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">of the sociology of technology. Mumford,
Ellul, Winner, and Noble remind</span> us that no machine stands alone.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn14" name="_ednref14" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xiv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> In other words, we will forever be <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">trapped in a narcissistic
"I-want-my-mammogram" analysis as long as</span> we view technology
only as specific machines that either serve us individually or do not. What Mumford calls the “Megamachine" is
an entire psycho-socio-economic system that includes all the machines in our
midst; all the organizations and methods that <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">make
those machines possible; those of us who inhabit this technologi</span>cal
construct; plus the ways in which we are socialized and required to participate
in the system; and the ways we think, perceive, and feel as we attempt to
survive within it.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XDeeEwY1xII/UKAGxtDy54I/AAAAAAAAALE/73lGuM4GrPc/s1600/harold-lloyd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XDeeEwY1xII/UKAGxtDy54I/AAAAAAAAALE/73lGuM4GrPc/s320/harold-lloyd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">What I am
describing is a human-constructed, technology-centered social system built on
principles of standardization, efficiency, linearity, and fragmentation-like an
assembly line that fulfills production quotas, but cares nothing for the people
who operate it. Within this system, tech<sup></sup>nology influences society.
The automotive industry reor<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">ganized
American society in the 20th century. Likewise, nuclear weapons</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">define global politics. At the same time, society
reflects the technological</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">ethos. As
Mander shows, the social organization of workplaces, as well as</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">their architecture and physical layout, reflect
the mechanistic principles of</span> standardization, efficiency, and
production quotas.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn15" name="_ednref15" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">From our
everyday experience we <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">might note that
"normal" acts like standing in line, obeying traffic signals, or</span>
registering for the draft all constitute acts of participation in this grand
machine. Regarding our minds and bodies as disconnected in health and disease,
or thinking that radioactive waste buried in the Earth won't eventually seep
into the water table, are symptoms of the fragmented thinking that emerges from
such a mechanical order.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">At this
point in history, technology and society are completely interwoven. The
feminist philosopher Susan Griffin characterizes the impossible task of
distinguishing the two as "like saying my hand causes my fingers.”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn16" name="_ednref16" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xvi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><sup>
"</sup>Technology has become our environment as well as our<span style="letter-spacing: -.25pt;"> ideology," writes the Dutch social critic
Michiel Schwarz, "We no longer use</span> technology, we live it.”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn17" name="_ednref17" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xvii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><sup>
</sup><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Vine
Deloria, Lakota author of books on Native history and politics, describes the
results of this social-technological imbrication as "the artificial
universe."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Wilderness
transformed into city streets, subways, giant <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">buildings,
and factories resulted in the complete substitu</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">tion of the real world for the artificial world of the urban</span> man
...Surrounded by an artificial universe when the <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">warning signals are not the shape of the sky, the cry of the</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">animals, the changing of seasons, but the simple
flashing</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">of the traffic light and the
wail of the ambulance and police</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">car,
urban people have no idea what the natural universe</span> is like. . . . Their
progress is defined solely in terms of convenience within the artificial
technological universe with which they are familiar.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn18" name="_ednref18" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xviii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><sup><o:p></o:p></sup></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Langdon
Winner moves the idea further, arguing that the artifacts and methods invented
since the technological revolution have developed in <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">size and complexity to the point of canceling our every ability to grasp
their</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">impact upon us. The
scientific-technological reality that</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">now
threatens to determine every aspect of our lives and encase the entire</span>
planet is out of control, he asserts. "Our technologies are tools without
handles.”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn19" name="_ednref19" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><sup><o:p></o:p></sup></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.15pt;">Characteristics like total immersion, loss of perspective, and loss of
control tip us off to the</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">link
between the psychological process of addiction and the technological</span>
system. According to Craig Nakken of the
Rutgers School of Alcohol Studies, addiction is a progressive disease that
begins with inner <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">psychological changes,
leads to changes in perception, behavior, and life</span>-<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">style, and then to total breakdown</span>.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn20" name="_ednref20" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xx]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><sup><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span></sup><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">Its hallmark is the out</span>-of-control, often
aimless compulsion to fill a lost sense of meaning and connectedness with
substances or experiences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">Throughout technological society the recognized symptoms of the</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> addictive
process are blatantly evident. They are obvious in the behavior of those
Jacques Ellul calls "the cabal of self-serving officials and executives"<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_edn21" name="_ednref21" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xxi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
who promote technology to maintain control over society or inflate their own
bank accounts and egos. And they are evident for us all <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">because our experience, knowledge, and sense of reality have been
shaped</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">by life in the technological
world. Some symptoms of the addictive process</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">include: denial, control, dishonesty, thinking disorders, grandiosity,
and an</span> unhealthy relationship with one<sup>'</sup>s feelings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div>
<!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<br />
<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">This blog is a book. Please feel free to read the next chapter now. Go to the Table of Contents under the introduction on the right side of the page and click on the next chapter.</span></i></b><br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Lewis
Mumford, <i>The Myth of the Machine:</i> <i>Technics and Human Development</i>. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place>: Harcourt Brace
and World, 1967; <i>The Myth of the Machine:
The Pentagon of Power</i>; <i>Technics and
Civilization</i>; Jacque Ellul, <i>The
Technological Society</i>. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place>:
Vintage, 1964; <i>The Technological Bluff</i>.
<st1:city w:st="on">Grand Rapids</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">MI</st1:state>:
Eerdmans, 1990; David Noble, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><i>America</i></st1:country-region></st1:place><i> by Design</i>. <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>: Alfred Knopf, 1977; Langdon
Winner, <i>Autonomous Technology</i>. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Cambridge</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">MA</st1:state></st1:place>:
MIT Press, 1977; Langdon Winner, <i>The
Whale and the Reactor</i>. <st1:city w:st="on">Chicago</st1:city>: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Chicago</st1:placename></st1:place> Press, 1986; Jerry Mander, <i>Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television</i>.
<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>:
Quill, 1978; and Jerry Mander, <i>In the
Absence of the Sacred</i>. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San
Francisco</st1:place></st1:city>: Sierra Club Books, 1991. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Martin
Heidegger, “The Question Concerning Technology,” in <i>Technology and</i> <i>Other Essays</i>,
trans. William Levitt. <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>:
Harper & Row, 1977, p. 3.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref3" name="_edn3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">
Glendinning, <i>When Technology Wounds</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn4">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref4" name="_edn4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> David
Maraniss and Michael Weisskoff, “Corridor of Death along the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Mississippi</st1:state></st1:place>,” <i>San Francisco Chronicle</i>, January 31, 1988; and Jay Gould, <i>Quality of Life in American Neighborhoods</i>.
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Boulder</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">CO</st1:state></st1:place>:
Westview Press, 1986, pp. 2.117-2.120. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn5">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref5" name="_edn5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Critical
Mass Energy Project, “The 1986 Nuclear Power Safety Report.” <st1:city w:st="on">Washington</st1:city>
<st1:state w:st="on">DC</st1:state>: Public Citizen, 1986; and Daniel F. Ford, <st1:place w:st="on"><i>Three Mile Island</i></st1:place>.
<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>:
Penguin, 1982.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn6">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref6" name="_edn6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <i>Aerometric Information and Retrieval System:
1988 with Supplemental Data from Regional Office Review</i>. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Washington</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">DC</st1:state></st1:place>:
Environmental Protection Agency, July 1989. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn7">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref7" name="_edn7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <i>Unfinished Business: A Comparative
Assessment of Environmental Problems</i>. Washington DC: Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Policy Analysis, February 1987, pp. 84-86; Lawrie
Mott and Karen Snyder, “Pesticide Alert,” <i>Amicus
Journal</i>, Vol. 10 No. 2, Spring 1988,
p. 2; and <i>Information Disease Almanac,
1986. </i><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Boston</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">MA</st1:state></st1:place>: Houghton Mifflin, 1986, p. 129.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn8">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref8" name="_edn8" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">
“Neo-Luddism Is Sweeping <st1:place w:st="on">North America</st1:place>: An
Interview with Chellis Glendinning and Marvin Minsky,” Canadian Broadcasting
Company rebroadcast on National Public Radio, March 26, 1990.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn9">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref9" name="_edn9" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[ix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> “The Mike
Cuthbert Show,” WAMU-FM, May 16, 1990.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn10">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref10" name="_edn10" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[x]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Morris
Berman, <i>The Re-Enchantment of the World.</i>
<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>:
Bantam, 1981, p. 242.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn11">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref11" name="_edn11" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> D.E.
Koshland, “War and Science,” <i>Science</i>,
Vol. 251 No. 4993, February 1, 1991, p. 497. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn12">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref12" name="_edn12" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Al Gore, <i>Earth in the Balance</i>. <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>: Houghton Mifflin, 1992. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn13">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref13" name="_edn13" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xiii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Gregory
Bateson, <i>Steps to an Ecology of Mind</i>.
<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>:
Random House, 1972, pp. 309-337. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn14">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref14" name="_edn14" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xiv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Mumford, <i>Technics and Civilization</i>, p. 12; <i>The Myth of the Machine: The Pentagon of Power</i>, Chapter 13; Ellul, <i>The Technological Society</i>, pp. 3-11;
Winner, <i>Autonomous Technology</i>, pp.
8-12; and Nobel, <i>America By Design</i>,
Chapters 8-9.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn15">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref15" name="_edn15" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Mander, <i>In the Absence of the Sacred</i>, Chapter 7.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn16">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref16" name="_edn16" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xvi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">
Conversation with Susan Griffin, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Berkeley</st1:city>
<st1:state w:st="on">CA</st1:state></st1:place>, June 15, 1987.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn17">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref17" name="_edn17" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xvii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Michiel
Schwarz and Rein Jansma, eds., <i>The
Technological Culture</i>. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Amsterdam</st1:place></st1:city>:
De Bailie Publishers, 1989, p. 3.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn18">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref18" name="_edn18" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xviii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Vine
Deloria, <i>We Talk, You Listen</i>. <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>: Delta, 1970,
p. 185. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn19">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref19" name="_edn19" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Winner, <i>Autonomous Technology</i>, p. 29.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn20">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref20" name="_edn20" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xx]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Craig
Nakken, <i>The Addictive Personality</i>. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:city>: Harper
& Row, 1988, pp. 19-62. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn21">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%204.doc#_ednref21" name="_edn21" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xxi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Jacques
Ellul, <i>Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s
Attitudes.</i> <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>:
Vintage Books, 1965, p. 121.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-14680828218178584752012-10-25T16:40:00.000-07:002012-11-13T15:57:43.856-08:00V: like dropping the atom bomb<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">As I was writing this essay for the Institute for Policy
Studies, the all-pervasiveness of addiction was rising to collective awareness
in the United States. More people were
joining Alcoholics Anonymous, and more psychotherapy clients were attempting to
blend the lessons of A.A. with the healing offered by deep-excavation therapy. I was invited to speak at a mental health
conference put on by an organization located in the hyper-conservative town of Colorado
Springs. When I stepped to the podium
and began to outline a relationship between personal addiction and disconnection
from the natural world -- with its implied critique of technological progress
and favoring of environmental politics -- several listeners stormed out of the
auditorium in a rage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">The essay for <i>Technology for the Common Good</i> continues:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">According
to psychotherapist Terry Kellogg, addiction is "a process of decreasing
choice sustained by <i>denial</i>.<sup>"<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></sup>
The practicing alcoholic pretends that everything is normal. I once met a
politician who had gotten himself elected to office by spending ten times more
on his campaign than any other contender in the race. He was addicted to power,
sex, overspending, and abuse of other people. His denial of these addictions
blinded him from admitting them for year -- until one day the Sheriff<sup>'</sup>s
Family Violence Protection Act served him notice for assault.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The denial of
addiction we find in society's ecological, economic, <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">and psychological crises resembles this ma</span>n<sup><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">'</span></sup><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">s
life. A society-wide stance of</span> "business-as-usual"
pervades. Denial abounds.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VF7sbJcJfWM/UJr9ShUGTDI/AAAAAAAAAGo/7fawFtk9mp4/s1600/196060_253350018103419_1424040541_n.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VF7sbJcJfWM/UJr9ShUGTDI/AAAAAAAAAGo/7fawFtk9mp4/s320/196060_253350018103419_1424040541_n.JPG" width="157" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The automotive
industry keeps cranking out new models of polluting cars. Television runs ads
for them. We buy them. The U.S. government denies a link between technological
development and global warming, while President George Bush calls for more
technological <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">development as the answer to
environmental disaster. The plastics industry</span> inundates world markets
with petro-products, even using the idea of park benches made from recycled
plastic as an excuse for further production. The medical establishment denies
the existence of environmental illness. Corporations deny the ecological impact
of manufacturing toxics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Technology survivors
suffer the rejection caused by denial from the insurance industry, justice
system, medical establishment, media, and even friends and family. As Love
Canal resident Lois Gibbs told me: “I went to my son's pediatrician, and I
said, ‘Look, there are eight patients who have you as their doctor. All of them
are under the age of twelve, all of them have a similar urinary disorder. Why
is this? What do you make of the fact that you have eight patients who live
within a few blocks of Love Canal who have the same disease?’ He said, ‘There
is no connection.’”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Dishonesty</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> is acted
out by the alcoholic in secret drinking, sneaky behavior, and lying. With
respect to technology addiction, this symptom reveals itself most blatantly in
the behavior of corporations and government agencies whose self-interest lies
in purveying offending technologies. We know, for example, that officials at
A.H. Robins, the makers of the Dalkon Shield, knew in advance of the potential
medical risk of their product. Nonetheless, they sent it to market, and when
reports and studies indicating ill effects became public knowledge, A.H. Robins
claimed ignorance.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Likewise, in the face of increasing liability suits, Manville Corporation
(formerly Johns-Manville) froze its assets and declared bankruptcy. At the
time, Manville ranked 181<sup>st</sup> on the Fortune 500 list, with assets of
over $2 billion.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_edn4" name="_ednref4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">Addicts
need to <i>control</i> their world to enjoy
uninterrupted access to the</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">source of
their obsession. A workaholic who directs a small institute</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">is incapable of negotiating even the smallest
agreement because input from</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">others
upsets her sense of control. Likewise, today's multinationals display</span> an
unbounded obsession with controlling the world's resources, consumer <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">markets, worker</span>s<sup><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">'</span></sup><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">
behavior, and public opinion toward their products.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">The
kinds</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">
<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">of technologies a society develops are not
as preordained as the</span> ethos of linear progress would have us believe;
they express a society's <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">goals, both
conscious and unconscious. In mass technological society there</span> exists a
striking resemblance between the kinds of technologies produced <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">and tyrannical modes of political power. Winner
discusses the similarity in</span> language between the realms of power and
technology. "Master" and <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">"slave"
are words used to characterize both technology and fascist politics,</span>
while "machine," "power," and "control" appear in
the vocabularies of both worlds.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_edn5" name="_ednref5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><sup><o:p></o:p></sup></span><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8905953524121462477" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8905953524121462477" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_edn5" name="_ednref5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></a></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nTOQNvrCaiA/UJr_EZSEX0I/AAAAAAAAAGw/V2zTdVkUxrg/s1600/282308_10151224338896900_1746477338_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nTOQNvrCaiA/UJr_EZSEX0I/AAAAAAAAAGw/V2zTdVkUxrg/s320/282308_10151224338896900_1746477338_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_edn5" name="_ednref5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">When humans assume a
position of extreme dependence on technical artifacts, the lines blur between
who is master and who is slave. What happens to our lives when <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">cars break down? What happens when you don't own</span>
<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">a computer? Technology's mastery over our
lives</span> translates into political disempowerment as well. The very
conception, invention, development, and deployment of new technologies involve
an undemocratic social process rationalized as <sup>"</sup>progress."<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_edn6" name="_ednref6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><sup>
</sup> The life experience of technology
survivors attests to this fact: they are usually exposed to technological
events without warning or choice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">If the particular
kinds of technologies in our midst exist to promote mastery and power, we might
ask: For whom? Over whom? </span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Windmills and
teepees express democratic and ecological values because the very people who
invent, produce, and maintain them are the people who <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">use them. By contrast, the technologies of mass society reflect</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">a mentality of domination over the natural world,
space, and people</span>. As Mander points out, running a nuclear power plant
requires <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">tight, centralized control by both
government and industry to produce</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">such
a capital-intensive project, master public opinion, and </span>provide military
back-up in case of sabotage, accident, or public <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">protest</span>.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_edn7" name="_ednref7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt; mso-font-width: 97%;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">Alcoholics
typically employ <i>obsessive, confused, and
narcissistic thinking</i>. One addict </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">who assaulted a woman explained that
he was not <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">responsible for her medical
bills; instead he blamed the woman</span> for her reaction to his attack,
rationalizing "you create your own reality."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">Likewise,
much thinking in mass technological society is dysfunctional -- with</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> people
embracing the "technological fix" as the answer to social,
psychological, and medical problems caused by previous technological <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">fixes.</span> Doctors treat servicemen with cancer
from exposure to nuclear testing -- with small blasts of radiation. Chemists
look to ever more-potent pesticides to conquer the insects resistant to last
year's poison. One <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">proposed government program
seeks to cover the oceans with polystyrene</span> chips which will reflect
"unwanted" sunlight off the Earth's <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">surface
and save us from global warming. And some scientists suggest</span> orbiting
hundreds of satellites around the planet to block the sun's light.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_edn8" name="_ednref8" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">The
practicing alcoholic's <i>delusion of
grandeur</i> is well known. The</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">inflated
power that fuels technological development is less apparent,</span> more
assumed. This grandiosity insists that mass technological society is superior
to all other social arrangements. It implies that human evolution <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">is linear and progressive, and that all societies
should be judged by</span> the yardstick of technological achievement. These
ideas are inescapably present<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> -- on
television, in textbooks, in movies</span> -- and are reinforced by each season's
parade of state-of-the-art technologies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Technological
society's main organ of socialization, public relations, purveys the
grandiosity of technology. "Master the Possibilities" teases the
MasterCard ad. "What Exactly Can the World's Most Powerful and Expandable
PC Do? Anything It Wants," promises the Compaq Deskpro. At the same time
the "smart weapons" unleashed on television during Desert Storm
advertise that American technology -- and America -- is "Number One."
Behind this all-too-earnest insistence lies the out-of-control, often aimless
compulsion to create ever-increasing expressions of grandiosity -- and the
hallmark of the addict -- to return continually to the source of
aggrandizement. We need more cars, more bombs, more televisions, more golf
courses, more dams, more shopping malls, more new technologies to prove our
grandiosity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">Alcoholics
are brimming with <i>emotions</i>, but they
can't express themsel</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">ves
directly or constructively. Instead, their feelings are hidden from view</span>,
and <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">they </span>live in a state of frozen
emotion. Or they act out their feelings in dishonest, controlling, grandiose
behavior.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Likewise, survival in
the technological system requires that people <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">behave
like machines. The hallmark of education</span> is to quantify reality and
function in a mechanistic world. Every subject we learn at school seems
unrelated to the others. Each department of government appears disconnected
from every other. Modern medicine denies
links between body organs and systems; between mind, body, and social experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">Similarly,
technological society is structured "top-down," its frag</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">mented nature keeping most of us from ever
grasping an understanding of</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">the
whole. The Manhattan Project that built the bombs that killed hundreds</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">of thousands of people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
was constructed accord</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">ing to a
mechanistic military model. The project included 37 installations</span>,<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_edn9" name="_ednref9" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[ix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
each providing one frag<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">ment of the
production process. At Los Alamos National Laboratory work was</span>
purposefully accomplished with a compartmentalization of tasks and a censuring
of communication between scientists that enabled them<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;"> to engage in activities</span> the consequence of which could neither
be felt nor understood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">The
upshot of such an approach to life is that feelings, knowings, and</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> perceptions
are disconnected from each other, and the unconscious mind becomes the receptor
of repressed feelings. As a result, many
of us tend to reside in a semi-conscious state: the hideous and subterranean
violations around us catalyze our feelings, but unacknowledged <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">by the mechanistic world, we act them out in
behaviors we neither</span> feel nor understand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Like dropping the
atomic bomb.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(1993)<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_edn10" name="_ednref10" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">[x]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">This blog is a book. Please feel free to read the next chapter now. Go to the Table of Contents under the introduction on the right side of the page and click on the next chapter.</span></i></b><br />
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<br />
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Terry
Kellogg, “Broken Toys, Broken Dreams,” <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Santa
Fe</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">NM</st1:state></st1:place>:
AudioAwareness, 1991. Audiotape.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Glendinning,
<i>When Technology Wounds,</i> p. 66.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_ednref3" name="_edn3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Morton
Mintz, <i>At Any Cost: Corporate Greed,
Women and the Dalkon Shield</i>. <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New
York</st1:place></st1:state>: Pantheon Books, 1985, Chapter 3.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn4">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_ednref4" name="_edn4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Paul
Brodeur, <i>Outrageous Misconduct: The
Asbestos Industry on Trial</i>. <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New
York</st1:place></st1:state>: Pantheon Books, 1985, Chapter 10.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn5">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_ednref5" name="_edn5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Winner, <i>Autonomous Technology</i>, p. 20.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn6">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_ednref6" name="_edn6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Mander, <i>In the Absence of the Sacred</i>, Chapter 7.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn7">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_ednref7" name="_edn7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Mander, <i>Four Arguments for the Elimination of
Television,</i> p. 44<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn8">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_ednref8" name="_edn8" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Mander, <i>In the Absence of the Sacred</i>, p. 179.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn9">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_ednref9" name="_edn9" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[ix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Richard
Hewlett and Oscar Anderson, Jr., <i>The New
World, 1939-1946: A History of the Atomic Energy Commission</i>. <st1:city w:st="on">University Park</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">PA</st1:state>: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Pennsylvania</st1:placename></st1:place>, 1962, p. 3.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn10">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%205.doc#_ednref10" name="_edn10" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[x]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Adapted
from Chellis Glendinning, “The Conversation We Haven’t Had; Trauma, Technology,
and the Wild” in Michael Shuman and Julia Sweig, eds., <i>Technology for the Common Good</i>.
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Washington</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">D.C.</st1:state></st1:place>: Institute for Policy Studies, 1993,
Chapter. 4.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-44729041935876485062012-10-24T14:52:00.000-07:002012-11-13T16:14:20.875-08:00VI: in the realm of the unconscious <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I1Tk_xyBxZE/UJmcGuu6y6I/AAAAAAAAADs/p7ndey9k-sI/s1600/ferrytale.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I1Tk_xyBxZE/UJmcGuu6y6I/AAAAAAAAADs/p7ndey9k-sI/s320/ferrytale.JPG" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: justify;">W.H. “Ping” Ferry</span>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The words in my
essay on technology addiction were brought to the page via a grant from W.H.
“Ping” Ferry, a New York intellectual and philanthropist who had spent his long
life engaged with the most innovative thinkers of his generation, focused on
some of the most pressing social problems.
In his 80’s, he still ambled out to his garage in Scarsdale every day,
where he banged out letters to hundreds of colleagues on an old black
typewriter and gave out $1000 grants demanding from recipients neither proposal
nor follow-up report.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">One day
in 1991 Ping sent me a letter. He wanted
me to understand that the problem facing humanity was not just specific
machines like nuclear weapons or Dalkon Shields; rather it sprung from an
entire technological <i>system</i>. Finding like minds was, even then, a
rarity. Ping and I began a
correspondence -- and one day I mailed him a cassette tape of a lecture I was
particularly proud to share, demonstrating that I had indeed digested his
feedback. He punched out a quick note on
his typewriter informing me he didn’t own a cassette player, never had, never
would. When I proposed that he walk next
door and borrow a tape recorder, he refused and returned the tape, unopened, in
the envelope! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I felt
I’d had another lesson from the inimitable W. H. Ping Ferry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
essay he commissioned for inclusion in <i>Technology
for the Common Good</i> continues, hopefully incorporating his wisdom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The twelve-step
recovery movement says that, to heal, the addict must make "a <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">searching and fearless moral inventory.”</span><a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><sup><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span></sup><span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">On
the personal</span> level this undertaking includes claiming responsibility for
instances in <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">which we have violated another
person's integrity. On the collective level</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">we might claim responsibility for technological society's uncounted
viola</span>tions against humanity, animals, the plant world, and the Earth.
But, a<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">s Kellogg tells us,</span> addictive
behavior is not natural to the human species. It occurs because some untenable
violation has "happened <i>to</i>
us."<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">And
indeed, we have undergone an untenable violation: a collective trauma that
explains the insidious reality of addiction and abuse infusing <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">our lives.</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">The <i>Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual </i></span><i>of Mental Disorders</i>
defines trauma as "an event that is outside the range of human experience
and that would be markedly distressing to almost anyone."<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Psychiatrist Abraham Kardiner describes it as "an external <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">influence necessitating an abrupt change in
adaptation which the organism</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">fails
to meet.</span>"<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_edn4" name="_ednref4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">The trauma endured by technological peoples</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">is the systemic and systematic removal of our
lives from the natural world: </span>from the tendrils of earthy textures, from
the rhythms of sun and moon, <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">from the
spirits of the bears and trees, from the life force itself. This is also</span>
the systemic and systematic removal of our lives from the kinds of social <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">and cultural experiences our ancestors assumed
when they lived in rhythm</span> with the natural world.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vwNT-ViscyE/UJw2ffsgHJI/AAAAAAAAAHE/Y6Xj9USApb8/s1600/Edward_S_Curtis_Old_well_at_acoma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vwNT-ViscyE/UJw2ffsgHJI/AAAAAAAAAHE/Y6Xj9USApb8/s320/Edward_S_Curtis_Old_well_at_acoma.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Edward Curtis</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Deloria
infers that technological people "have no idea" about much of
anything that resides outside "the artificial technological universe with
which [we] are familiar." Human beings evolved over the <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">course of some 3 million years and 100,000
generations in synchronistic</span> evolution with the natural world. We are
creatures who are physically and psychologically built to thrive in intimacy <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">with the Earth. A mere 300 generations ago, or
.003 percent of our time on</span> Earth, humans in the Western world began the
process of controlling the natural world through agriculture and animal
domestication. Just five or six generations have passed since industrial
societies emerged out of<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> this domestication
process. Our experience is</span> indeed "outside the range of human
experience," and by the evidence of psychological distress, ecological
destruction, and technological control, this way of life has necessitated
"an abrupt change in adaptation." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Though
largely ignored, evidence jumps from the pages of anthropological texts
suggesting that the very psychological qualities so earnestly sought in today's
recovery, psychological, and spiritual
move<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">ments, the very social equalities for
which today's social justice move</span>ments struggle so valiantly, and the
very ecological gains sought after by today's environmental movements --
these comprise the same qualities and <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">conditions in which our species lived for over</span>
99 <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">percent of its existence.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">For
nature-based people, addiction was not a normal occurrence<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">.</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">Rather
people lived every day of their lives</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">in
the wilderness. We are only</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">beginning
to grasp how such a life served the inherent expectations of the</span> human
psyche for development to maturation and health. In nature-<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">based people who today maintain some vestiges of
their Earth-based cultures, we can discern a decided sense of ease</span> with
daily life, a marked sense of self and dignity, a wisdom which most <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">of us can admire only from afar</span>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wdFDHRMzw1c/UJw3cU3mlbI/AAAAAAAAAHM/AVtVeeLhiug/s1600/curtis-edward-s-canyon-de-chelly-navajo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wdFDHRMzw1c/UJw3cU3mlbI/AAAAAAAAAHM/AVtVeeLhiug/s320/curtis-edward-s-canyon-de-chelly-navajo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Edward Curtis</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Anthropologists
report that in small, face-to-face communities most <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">nature-based people practice an easy form of democracy. Every</span>
member has a say and members of the community listen to each other.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_edn5" name="_ednref5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Workaholism does not exist.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_edn6" name="_ednref6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> The
population tends to remain stable, held in check by natural (rather than
technological) fertility controls arising out of diet <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">and lifestyle</span>.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_edn7" name="_ednref7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt; mso-font-width: 60%;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">And
ecological sustainability reigns: all tools are made</span> of natural
substances, and movement from one place to another allows for remaining waste
to biodegrade into the Earth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">As
psycho-historian Paul Shepard notes:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">White,
European-American, Western peoples are <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">separated
by many generations from decisions of councils</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">of the whole, life with few
possessions, highly developed</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">initiation
ceremonies, natural history as everyman's voca</span>tion, a total surround of
non-man-made otherness with <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">spiritual
significance, and the 'natural' way of mother and</span> infant.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_edn8" name="_ednref8" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">The loss of such experiences in the face of an</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> increasingly
human-constructed, technology-determined <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">reality,
and the loss of living in fluid participation with the wild, constitutes</span>
the trauma we have inherited.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
hallmark of the traumatic response is dissociation. This is also the
psychological result of the kinds of social changes that took place via<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> domestication. Shepard describes this process as
the initiation of</span> a heretofore unheard of tame/wild dichotomy in which
things considered tame (domesticated seedlings, captured animals; the mechanical,
controlling mentality required to keep them alive) are prized and <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">protected, while things considered wild
("weeds," wild animals; the</span> fluid, participator way of being
human) are threatening.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_edn9" name="_ednref9" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[ix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><sup><o:p></o:p></sup></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">This split
between wild and tame lays the foundation for both the addictive personality
and technological society. Ultimately
such a split imprisons us in our human-constructed reality and causes all the
unnecessary and troublesome dichotomies with which we grapple today -- from
male/female and mind/body, to secular/sacred and technological/Earth-based.
Shepard writes:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">n the ideology of farming, wild things are enemies
of the</span> tame; the wild Other is not the context but the opponent <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">of 'my' domain. Impulses, fears and dreams -- the
realm of</span> the unconscious -- no longer are represented by a community of
wild things with which I can work out a mean<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">ingful
relationship. The unconscious is driven deeper and</span> away with the
wilderness.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_edn10" name="_ednref10" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[x]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">n his work on the post-traumatic stress of
individuals, psychiatrist Ivor</span> Browne describes dissociation in terms
remarkably similar to Shepard's. He sees it as "unexperienced
experience,"<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_edn11" name="_ednref11" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><sup> </sup>experience that has not been properly
processed by the psyche and integrated into memory. Just as animals often meet
threats of disaster by "playing dead," so traumatized <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">people split their consciousness,
"freezing" the experience of loss and pain</span> from awareness and
playing dead in mind and body. This mechanism is a brilliant way to protect the
psyche from threats that our <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">nervous systems</span>
<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">simply </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">were not built to handle, and changes that we were</span> never meant to
integrate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
purpose of dissociation, then, is self-preservation. As Ivor Browne describes
it: "Whenever we are faced with an overwhelming experience that we sense
as potentially disintegrating, we have the ability t<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">o suspend it and 'freeze' it in an unassimilated, inchoate form and
maintain</span> it in that state indefinitely."<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_edn12" name="_ednref12" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Technological <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">people's dislocation from the
only home we have ever known is a traumatic</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">event that has occurred over generations, and that occurs again in each
of</span> our childhoods and in our daily lives. In the face of such a breach, <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">symptoms of traumatic stress are no longer the
rare event caused by a freak</span> accident or battering weather, but the
everyday stuff of life experience.<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">Kellogg describes trauma as "the freeway to addiction,"<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_edn13" name="_ednref13" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">[xiii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><sup> </sup>and his</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> technological
metaphor is not lost. As human life comes to be structured <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">increasingly by mechanistic means, the psyche
restructures itself to survive. </span>The technological construct erodes
primary sources of satisfaction once found routinely in life in the wilds, such
as physical nourishment, vital community, fresh food, continuity between work
and meaning, un<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">hindered participation in
life experiences, </span>and spiritual connection with the natural world.
Bereft and in <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">shock, the psyche finds some
temporary satisfaction in pursuing secondary</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">sources like drugs, violence,
sex, material possessions, and machines. While</span> these stimulants may
satisfy in the moment, they can never truly fulfill <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">primary needs. And so the
addictive process is born. We become obsessed</span> with secondary sources as
if our lives depended on them. <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Today the
world is awash in a sea of both personal and collective addictions: alcoholism,
drug abuse, sex addiction, consumerism, eating disorders, codependence,
war-making, and global drama. Psychotherapist <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">and
author Anne Wilson Schaef points out that beneath these behaviors lies</span>
an identifiable disease process "whose assumptions, feelings, behaviors,
and lack of spirit lead to a process of nonliving that is progressively
death-oriented."<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_edn14" name="_ednref14" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xiv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><sup> </sup>While her words describe the addictive
process of individuals, they also characterize the addictive process of a
civilization.<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">Techno-addiction finds its momentary satisfaction through machines and
power, but it is also an addiction to a way of perceiving, experienc</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">ing, and thinking. As the world has become less
organic and more depend</span>ent on techno-fixes, humans have substituted a
new worldview for one once filled with clean rushing waters, coyotes,
constellations of stars, tales of the ancestors, and people working together in
sacred purpose. But the ancestors from the western world took on the crucial
task of redefining their worldview in a state of psychic dislocation, and so
ended up projecting a worldview that reflects the rage, terror, and
dissociation of the traumatized state. They dreamed a world not of which humans
are fully part, but one that we can<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> wholly
define, compartmentalize, and control. They created linear perspec</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">tive, the scientific-technological paradigm, and
the mechanistic worldview.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Life on
Earth encased in the product of such a construction is, to quote the Hopi,
hopelessly <i>koyanaskatsi</i>, or out of
balance. As a psychotherapist, I believe that to address this imbalance at its
roots will require more than public policy, regulation, or legislation. It will
require a collective psychological process to heal us technological peoples
who, through a mechanized culture, have lost touch with our essential humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Because I am
insufferably adamant about the need to throw off the chains (freeways,
electromagnetic technologies, nuclear weapons) of <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">mass technological society and become as wild as the Earth intended, I
am</span> dedicated to healing. This is recovery not just of the
"unexperienced<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> experience" brought
on by the trauma, violation, and abuse people now sustain -- but</span> it
encompasses recovery of the joy, laughter, and compassion we so sorely
miss. It is, as Morris Berman proposes,
"the recovery of our bodies, our archaic traditions, our unconscious mind,
our rootedness in the land, our sense of community, and connectedness with one
another."<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_edn15" name="_ednref15" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><sup> </sup><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Such a
choice involves recovery of a respectful intimacy with the natural world. Those
who have made a tran<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">sition in this
relationship -- from one of speeding over the land at 75</span> miles per hour
and manufacturing genocidal weapons to one of wonderment, curiosity, and
loyalty -- will attest to the discovery of long-forgotten strengths and convic<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">tions. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">But because of the breach of intimacy technological</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">peoples have endured, there also is pain in
opening ourselves</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">to a world being
wantonly destroyed before our eyes. Radioactive fallout</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">rings the globe. The trees of the Black Forest
are withering. The seals in the</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">North
Sea are dying of immune-deficiency disease.
And the poisons keep</span> leaking out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">Then, there are our feelings about how the natural world for most of us</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">is nonexistent in our lives today. We cannot see
the moon overhead because</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">of the
smog. Our feet do not touch the Earth when we walk. We rarely walk.</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">We spend our time fixated before electromagnetic
screens. We do not know</span> how to speak to or learn from the natural world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Finally,
we have feelings about how as children we were rarely encouraged, taught, or
given the context within which to establish an authentic relationship with the
natural world. Such an intimacy is <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">essential to our growth into mature human beings,
and was built into our</span> lives throughout our evolution. Yet technological society denies us this
intimacy from the start. As children, we barely learn how the moon changes
shape, why snow is cold, or how the earth spirits can <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">help us live. The excavation of feelings about this lost</span> past,
and about our present losses, provides the psychic crucible for a
non-mechanistic way of being; as we feel, we come alive.<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">And
"What will come of such conversations?" ask you who worry that
heart-felt experience supplants political action. One overlooked outcome of any authentic
recovery process is that it refutes personal power<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">lessness. My experience as a psychotherapist and an activist tells me
that because the clear-sightedness and</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">love
for life that stream forth can be so mighty, the passion to become involved</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> can be held back by neither bulldozer nor virtual
reality. The words</span> that spring to mind when I am faced with yet another
violation of life are these: "Over my dead body . . ." And when I see
an opportunity to create something new: "To Life!"</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(1991)<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_edn16" name="_ednref16" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">[xvi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">This blog is a book. Please feel free to read the next chapter now. Go to the Table of Contents under the introduction on the right side of the page and click on the next chapter.</span></i></b></div>
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<div id="edn1">
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<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Anne
Wilson Schaef, <i>Co-Dependence</i>. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:city>: Harper
& Row, 1986, p. 27.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Kellogg,
“Broken Toys, Broken Dreams.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_ednref3" name="_edn3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <i>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders</i>, 3<sup>rd</sup> ed. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Washington</st1:city>
<st1:state w:st="on">DC</st1:state></st1:place>: American Psychiatric
Association, 1987.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn4">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_ednref4" name="_edn4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Abraham
Kardiner, “The Traumatic Neurosis of War,” <i>Psychomatic
Monograph II-III</i>. <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>:
P. Hoeber, 1941, p. 181.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn5">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_ednref5" name="_edn5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Peter
Wilson, <i>The Domestication of the Human
Species.</i> <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">New Haven CT</st1:address></st1:street>:
<st1:placename w:st="on">Yale</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype>
Press, 1988, pp. 42-43; <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Stanley</st1:place></st1:city>
Diamond, <i>In Search of the Primitive</i>. <st1:city w:st="on">New Brunswick</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">NJ</st1:state>:
Transaction Books, 1974, Chapter 8; and Colin Turnbull, <i>The Forest People: A Study of the Pygmies of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Congo</st1:country-region></st1:place>.</i> <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>: Anchor, 1962, Chapter 6.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn6">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_ednref6" name="_edn6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Marshall
Sahlins, <i>Stone Age Economics</i>. <st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state>: Aldine De Gruyter, 1972, pp. 14-32; Frederick
McCarthy and Margaret McArthur, “The Food Quest and the Time Factor in
Aboriginal Economic Life,” in C.P. Mantford, ed., <i>Records of the Australian-American Scientific Expedition to <st1:place w:st="on">Arnhem Land</st1:place></i>, Vol. 2, Anthropology and Nutrition. <st1:city w:st="on">Melbourne</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Australia</st1:country-region>:
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Melbourne</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> Press, 1960, pp. 92-192; and
Richard Lee, “!Kung Bushman: Subsistence: An Input-Output,” in A. Vayda, ed<i>. Environment and Cultural Behavior</i>. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Garden City</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">NJ</st1:state></st1:place>:
Natural History Press, 1969, pp. 59-74.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn7">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_ednref7" name="_edn7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Margaret
Ehrenberg, <i>Women in Prehistory</i>. <st1:city w:st="on">Norman</st1:city> OK: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:placename></st1:place> Press, 1989,
pp. 85-90; L. Binford, <i>An Archaeological
Perspective</i>. <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>:
Seminar Press, 1972; and Mark Nathan Cohen, <i>Health
and the Rise of Civilization</i>. <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">New
Haven CT</st1:address></st1:street>: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Yale</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>
Press, 1989, p. 109.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn8">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_ednref8" name="_edn8" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Paul
Shepard, <i>Nature and Madness</i>. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:city>: Sierra
Club Books, 1982, p. 120.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn9">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_ednref9" name="_edn9" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[ix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Shepard,
p. 120.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn10">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_ednref10" name="_edn10" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[x]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Shepard,
p. 120.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn11">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_ednref11" name="_edn11" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Ivor
Browne, “Psychological Trauma, or Unexperienced Experience,” <i>Revision,</i> Vol. 12 No. 4, Spring 1990, p.
26.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn12">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_ednref12" name="_edn12" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Browne,
p. 27.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn13">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_ednref13" name="_edn13" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xiii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Kellogg,
“Broken Toys, Broken Dreams.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn14">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_ednref14" name="_edn14" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xiv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Schaef, <i>Co-Dependence</i>, p. 21.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn15">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_ednref15" name="_edn15" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Berman, <i>Re-Enchantment</i>, p. 282.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn16">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%206.doc#_ednref16" name="_edn16" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xvi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Adapted
from Chellis Glendinning, “The Conversation We Haven’t Had: Technology, Trauma,
and the Wild.” Chapter 4.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-28847307736938148662012-10-23T10:36:00.000-07:002012-11-13T16:15:21.487-08:00VII: technology is political <br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;">“The </span><i style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;">feast</i><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;"> of life” is how Lewis Mumford
described this lively sentiment in his 1962 “Prologue to Our Time.”</span><a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%207.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[i]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;">By 1989 I was aware that the important public
intellectual, who had in so many ways laid the ground for my own life’s work,
would soon pass from this world.</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;">I wrote
a letter to his home in </span><st1:place style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;" w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Amenia</st1:city>,
<st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;">, to ask if I might pay a
visit.</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Make a pilgrimage, really.</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;">His wife Sophia wrote back to make the
arrangements.</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;">I was told to arrive between
two and three-thirty in the afternoon.</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;">I
was told to stay no longer than a half hour.</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;">And I was informed that “his brain still functions, but more often than
not the connection between brain and communication is weak.”</span><a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%207.doc#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[ii]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The fact did not deter me.</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;">In the end what deterred the trip to Amenia
was my own ill health – and then, on January 26, 1990, before I could revamp a
schedule built around upstate New York, 94-year old Lewis Mumford had passed
on.</span></div>
<div>
<div id="edn2">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">A year
later Ping and I drove through the upstate <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place> countryside to pay our respects to
Sophie. She was gracious, alert, and, in
her 80’s, embarking upon what she described as the start of her own writing
career after so many decades in the shadow lands of her husband’s. She pointed me towards his writing room. I rose from the easy chair and edged towards
it with the sense of numinosity that one usually reserves for the approach to a
great cathedral.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
floor was made of planks. There was no
rug, and the room was almost empty. At
the far wall, under a dappling of light from a small window, stood a writing
table, a wooden chair, an old black typewriter, plus some clipboards, pencils,
and erasers. Everything was exactly as
it had been the last day he had worked there.
His corduroy jacket was still hanging from a nail on the inside of the
door.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K37i9L8TTJE/UJmdltPeF8I/AAAAAAAAAD0/vaNV0_5dZ7c/s1600/home.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K37i9L8TTJE/UJmdltPeF8I/AAAAAAAAAD0/vaNV0_5dZ7c/s1600/home.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mumford's Home</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The feast of
life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Emboldened
by colleagues like Langdon Winner and John Mohawk; inspired by the courage of
forerunners like Lewis Mumford, Jacques Ellul, and the Luddites; propelled by
the force of a globally-charged anti-nuclear movement -- we were riding high,
feeling our oats, speaking our truth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">But it
was a different time from now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Slower. The speed of computers did not form the
backbone of social relations, and people had time to nurse deep thoughts. Conversations were not cut off by intrusive
clicks and ditty-refrains. Everyone was
not running to get somewhere else. You
wrote a letter, time passed, you received a response. Speciousness reigned. Your every move was not captured on security
film, your conversations not tracked, your whereabouts not documented by
skyward camera. You didn’t have instant
access to every iota of information and every product on the planet. “Be Here Now” was a distinct possibility --
along with a sense of alighting upon life rather than plying it with management
skills. Before. There was a vibrancy sizzling through your
bones. The inclination to help a friend,
lend a hand, start a movement was alive.
Oddly to those who defend a preference for digital “connectivity” via
telecommunications, the internet, and satellite-delivered data -- indeed, cannot fathom life without it -- the cracks one might fall through seemed less
gaping, less craggy than they do now. We
were well aware that life was up a creek.
But we felt more rooted in the face of it, more at home, more embodied,
engaged, supported -- and far more given to bold language in articulating
visions of the possible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Such was
the sentiment that guided me to write “Notes toward a Neo-Luddite Manifesto,”
penned for the <i>Utne Reader </i>in 1990.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Most
students of European history dismiss the Luddites of 19<sup>th</sup> century
England as “reckless machine-smashers” and “vandals.” Probing beyond this interpretation, though,
we find a complex, and thoughtful social movement whose roots lay in a clash
between two worldviews.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The worldview the
Luddites challenged was that of laissez-faire capitalism with is increasing
amalgamation of power, resources, and wealth, rationalized by an emphasis on
“progress.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The worldview they
supported was an older, decentralized one espousing the interconnectedness of
work, community, family, and nature through craft guilds, village networks, and
local sustainability. They saw the new machines that owners introduced into
their workplaces – the gig mills and shearing frames – as threats not only to
their jobs, but to the quality of their lives. In the end, destroying the
machines was a last-ditch effort by a desperate people whose world lay on the
verge of destruction.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TcTFGXPSMDk/UJ_vm6v68OI/AAAAAAAAAKw/Z4iiwxgxFBc/s1600/charlie_chaplin02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TcTFGXPSMDk/UJ_vm6v68OI/AAAAAAAAAKw/Z4iiwxgxFBc/s320/charlie_chaplin02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">The current
controversy over technology is reminiscent of that of the Luddite period. We
too are being barraged by a new generation of technologies -– biotechnology,
superconductivity, fusion energy, wireless electricity, space weapons, super-computers.
We too are witnessing protest against the onslaught. </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">A group of Berkeley
students gathered in Sproul Plaza to smash television sets as an act of “therapy
for victims of technology.” A Los Angeles businesswoman hiked onto Vandenberg
Air Force Base and beat a weapons-related computer with a crowbar, bolt cutters,
and cordless drill. Villagers in India resist the bulldozers cutting down their
forests by wrapping their bodies around tree trunks. Japanese living near the
Narita airport sit on the tarmac to prevent airplanes from taking off and
landing. West Germans climb up the smokestacks of factories to protest
emissions that are causing acid rain and killing the Back Forest.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oc1tHtabFak/UJw9_qT1h9I/AAAAAAAAAHg/oNqzLWrxavU/s1600/tv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oc1tHtabFak/UJw9_qT1h9I/AAAAAAAAAHg/oNqzLWrxavU/s320/tv.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">Such acts echo the
commitment of the 19</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 36pt;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">-century Luddites. Neo-Luddites are 20</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 36pt;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">-century
citizens – activists, workers, neighbors, social critics, scholars – who
question the predominant modern worldview preaching that unbridled technology represents
progress. Neo-Luddites have the courage to gaze at the full catastrophe of our
century: the technologies created by modern Western societies are out-of-control
and desecrating the fragile fabric on Earth. Like the early Luddites, we too
are a desperate people seeking to protect the livelihoods, communities,
families, and wild spaces we love.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Just
as recent social movements have challenged the idea that current models of
gender roles, economic organization, and family structures are not necessarily
“normal” or “natural,” so the Neo-Luddite movement has come to acknowledge that
technological progress and the kinds of technologies produced in modern society
are not simply “the way things are.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Technology consists
of more than machines. It includes the techniques of operation and the social
organizations that make a particular machine workable. In essence, a technology
reflects a worldview. Which particular
forms of technology – machines, techniques, and social organization – are
spawned by a particular worldview depends on its perception of life, death,
human potential, and the relationship of humans to nature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In contrast to the
worldviews of a majority of cultures through history and around the world, the
view that lies at the foundation of modern technological society encourages a
mechanistic approach: to rational thinking, efficiency, utilitarianism,
scientific detachment, and the insistence that the human place on Earth is one
of ownership and supremacy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Stopping
the destruction brought by such technologies requires not just regulating or
eliminating individual items like pesticides or nuclear weapons. It requires
new ways of thinking about life and humanity. It requires the creation of a new
worldview.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">1) Neo-Luddites are not anti-technology. Technology
is intrinsic to human creativity and culture. What we oppose are the kinds of
technologies that are destructive and that emanate from a worldview that sees
rationality as the key to human potential, material acquisition as the key to
human fulfillment, technological development as the key to social progress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">2) All technologies are political. As social
critic Jerry Mander writes, technologies are not neutral tools that can be used
for good or evil depending on who uses them. They are entities that have been
consciously structured to serve specific interests in specific historical
situations. The technologies created in mass technological society are those
that serve the perpetuation of mass technological society. They tend to be
structured for short-term efficiency, profit-taking, war-making, and ease of
production, distribution, and marketing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Television, for
example, does not just bring entertainment and information to households across
the globe. It offers corporations a surefire method of expanding their markets
and controlling social/political thought. It also breaks down family
communications and narrows people’s experience of life by mediating reality and
lowering their span of attention, thus making them more fertile consumers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">3) The personal view of technology is
dangerously limited. The oft-heard message “but I couldn’t live without my word
processor” overlooks the consequences of widespread use of computers like toxic
contamination of electronics workers or the solidifying of corporate power
through instantaneous access to information.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Producers and
disseminators of technologies tend to introduce their creations in utopian
terms. Pesticides will increase yields to feed a hungry planet! Nuclear energy
will be too cheap to meter! The Pill will liberate women! Learning to critique
technology demands fully examining its sociological context, economic
ramifications, and political meanings. It involves asking not just what is
gained and by whom -- but what is lost and by whom. It involves looking at the
introduction of technologies from the perspective not only of human use, but of
their impact on other living beings, natural systems, and the environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">As
a move toward dealing with the consequences of modern technologies and
preventing further destruction of life, we favor the dismantling of:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">1) Nuclear technologies -- which cause disease
and death at every stage of the fuel cycle;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">2) Chemical technologies -- which create poisonous
substances and leave behind toxic wastes;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">3) Genetic engineering technologies -- which
foster dangerous mutagens;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">4) Television – which functions as a centralized
mind-controlling force, disrupts community life, and poisons the environment;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">5) Electromagnetic technologies – whose
non-ionizing radiation alters the natural electrical rhythms of living beings
and causes disease; and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">6) Computer technologies – which cause disease
and death in their manufacture, enhance centralized political power, and remove
people from direct experience of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">We favor a search for
new technological forms. We favor the creation of technologies by the people
directly involved in their use – not by scientists, engineers, and
entrepreneurs who gain financially from mass production of their inventions and
who know little about the context in which their technologies are used.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">We favor technologies
that are of a scale and structure that make them understandable to the people
who use them. We favor technologies built with a high degree of flexibility so
that they do not impose a rigid and irreversible imprint on their users, and we
favor technologies that promise political freedom, economic justice, and
ecological balance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">We favor technologies
in which politics, morality, ecology, and technics are merged for the benefit
of life on Earth:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">1) Community-based energy sources utilizing
solar, wind, and water technologies – which are renewable and enhance community
integrity and respect for nature;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">2) Organic, biological technologies in
agriculture, engineering, architecture, art, medicine, transportation, and
defense – which derive directly from natural models; and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">3) Decentralized social technologies – which
encourage participation, responsibility, and empowerment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">We favor the
development of a life-enhancing worldview in Western technological societies. We
seek to instill a perception of life, death, and human potential that will
integrate the human need for creative expression, spiritual experience, and
community with the capacity for rational thought and functionality. We perceive
the human role not as the dominator of other species and planetary biology, but
as integrated into the natural world with appreciation for the sacredness of
life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">We foresee a
sustainable future for humanity if and when Western technological societies
restructure their mechanistic projections and foster the creation of machines,
techniques, and social organizations that respect both human dignity and nature’s
wholeness. In progressing toward such a transition, we are aware: We have
nothing to lose except a way of living that leads to the destruction of all
life. We have a world to gain.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(1990)<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%207.doc#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<b style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">This blog is a book. Please feel free to read the next chapter now. Go to the Table of Contents under the introduction on the right side of the page and click on the next chapter.</span></i></b></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<!--[if !supportEndnotes]-->
<br />
<hr size="1" style="text-align: left;" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%207.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Lewis
Mumford, “Prologue to Our Time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%207.doc#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Letter
from Sophia Mumford, September 6, 1989.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%207.doc#_ednref3" name="_edn3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Adapted
from Chellis Glendinning, “Notes Toward a Neo-Luddite Manifesto,” <i>Utne Reader</i>, No. 38, March/April 1990,
pp. 50-53.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-15412310895364098722012-10-22T15:35:00.000-07:002012-11-13T15:59:30.470-08:00VIII: interview with a luddite <br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">Every interview any of us Luddites gave – and they had a
tendency to come at a gallop when the Unabomber was hitting the news -- would
culminate with the question “Do you own a computer?” I was gratified each time to erupt into a
Mona-Lisa smile. “Noo-oo,” I’d coo in
self-righteous pride. But then, in 2002,
the Johnny Appleseed of Cybernetics arrived at my house with his bag of knotted
wires and indecipherable gadgets -- and a second-hand, clearly cast-aside-for-something-newer
Dell laptop. And so it came to be –
perhaps the third-to-last of the Jacques Ellul bunch (Stephanie succumbed in
2003; Wendell, I’m not sure when, but he did) -- that I crossed one confused,
tentative toe into cyberspace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
question of what technologies one owns is a curious one. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I think
of my grandmother Clara “Mimere” Daoust’s house as a place of baskets -- willow
baskets for garnering carrots from the garden,
grass baskets for passing the bread, stick baskets for carrying sheets
and pillowcases. It was a place of
iceboxes, steam heaters, and a chute for dropping dirty clothes from the second
floor into a laundry basket in the basement.
Mimere’s first telephone was a black Bakelite contraption shaped
something like an hourglass, and she had the same number for six decades:
Fairmount 1-0900. Then, every Christmas
Uncle Brud and Uncle Jason would drag the old steam engine model down from the
attic and work all afternoon to get it fired up. They approached the machine, not with
arrogance about its quaintness, but with respect.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-quBdPlviNz4/UJmg1W4QLbI/AAAAAAAAAEU/ct9zoh7LsDY/s1600/Garette_Steam_Engine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-quBdPlviNz4/UJmg1W4QLbI/AAAAAAAAAEU/ct9zoh7LsDY/s200/Garette_Steam_Engine.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">The
house I grew up in also had an icebox, steam heaters, and a chute. As the post-WWII economy found its future in
the sale of consumer goods, we acquired a refrigerator, a Magnavox with rabbit
ears, an olive-colored plastic telephone, and a garbage disposal. Mimere got an electric garage door. By high school I had a pink Princess phone
with my own phone number.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Throughout
my adulthood I have prided myself for owning fewer machines than my family had
in the 1950’s. Friend Hallie Iglehart
was the first to bring home the new-fangled phone answering device; there it
sat, circa 1974, on its own chair in the middle of a room like a home invasion
by Hal the Computer. By 1978, when the
device had been reduced in size to less-than-a-bread-box, I too purchased one
and spent the better part of an evening honing and re-honing my outgoing
message. Today I live in an adobe hut in
the <i>altiplano</i> of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bolivia</st1:place></st1:country-region> and
drive a 1978 natural-gas-fueled Jeep. I
use a Gateway laptop, another of Johnny Appleseed’s cast-offs, and walk a
quarter mile through tall grasses to go online.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">It is
all very interesting to review one’s personal history of technology. Hannah Arendt’s concept of the “banality of
evil” comes to mind because the point, if one grasps the greater significance
of the Megamachine, is to review not <i>your
</i>history -- but <i>its </i>history. From the get-go technological society has
depended on increasingly complex, overarching, pervasive, and dangerous
technologies to keep it functioning. By
its very structure<i> </i>mass civilization
is itself a machine mirroring the mechanistic qualities of clockwork,
standardization, efficiency, centralization, expansion, and militarization –
with zero regard for life and living beings.
And we live encased within it. <i>This </i>is a different story -- not of a
bedtime sort featuring rabbit ears and pink phones – but a story of
powerlessness. Of grief, terror,
numbing, and rationalization – experiences each of us has known.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">With his mail
bombs, on-the-lam low-tech cabin in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Montana</st1:place></st1:state>,
and insistence on the publication of his anti-industrial treatise in national
newspapers, Ted Kaczynski thrust the subject of technology into the zeitgeist
big-time in 1995. Kirkpatrick Sale’s <i>Rebels Against the Future</i> came out the
same year, and what amounted to a history book about a crushed rebellion in 19<sup>th
</sup>century England was suddenly garnering more attention than,
Unabomber-less, it would have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Kirk and
I decided to put on a play called <i>Interview
with a Luddite</i>. It was to be the
Friday-night highlight of a conference, “Technology and Its Discontents,” at <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>’s Learning
Alliance on <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Lafayette Street</st1:address></st1:street>. The conference would feature ourselves, Bill
McKibben, Langdon Winner, Andrew McLaughlin, and Stephanie Mills. When Steph arrived at Kirk’s basement
apartment on <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">11<sup>th</sup>
Street</st1:address></st1:street>, we decided she would be in the play too.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d202jJkPPBY/UJxBG-6jRjI/AAAAAAAAAH4/0waKs0wSoDg/s1600/hdfhdfgh.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d202jJkPPBY/UJxBG-6jRjI/AAAAAAAAAH4/0waKs0wSoDg/s320/hdfhdfgh.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kirkpatrick Sale & Stephanie Mills</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">Flyers
for the event were plastered around the Village, and various newspapers and
radio stations were carrying ads for it – and yet, here it was the day before
and we had </span><i style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">neither script nor set</i><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">. Putting our heads together over Earl Grey
tea, with occasional forays into the mossy bricked garden out the screen door,
we plotted that a modern-day Luddite (me) would go to a psychiatrist (Stephanie)
concerning her distress that the publishing industry now required her to submit
her writing from a computer. The doctor
would recommend that she sleep on it, and she would flop down on the consulting
couch. And so, from dream state, would
enter the original Luddite from 1811, </span><st1:place style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;" w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Lancashire</st1:city>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
(Kirk). First he would regale her with
the conditions and history of his times.
Then curiosity would overtake him; he would ask the modern-day Luddite
about her times and struggles. “Did we
make an impact?” he would press. “Did we
lay the ground for an easier time for you?”
After she would tell him about the 20</span><sup style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;"> century, she would
awaken only to find her 19</span><sup style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">th-</sup><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">century companion still with her –- and
at laying eyes upon his first computer in the office of the psychiatrist, he
would take his hammer and, as in days of yore, smash the machine.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I knew
Kirkpatrick as a wry, earnest, and somewhat introverted intellectual -- so
nothing in my experience prepared me for what I then saw. We never actually practiced the play. We spent the morning of the performance
setting up the stage at the Learning Alliance and then retreated to our
respective apartments in the Village to get dressed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Looking
purposefully <i>au currant</i> in my black
rip-stop jumpsuit, I sat waiting for him at the window table of the French
Roast at <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">6<sup>th</sup> Avenue</st1:address></st1:street>
and 11<sup>th</sup>. Given that I was
about to appear in a theater performance before a <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place> audience -- for which there was no
script and had been no rehearsal -- I was inappropriately calm. Maybe it was like the time during an anti-war
protest when the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berkeley</st1:place></st1:city>
police with their batons, mace cans, and rage were rampaging at my heels -- and
my mind unexpectedly switched to an English garden amid daisies, roses, and
white trellises, with me leaping in the slowest of slow motion across the
trimmed green grass. Maybe it was like
that. The crowds were crossing 6<sup>th</sup>
like geese in lockstep rhythm with the WALK signal when, all of a sudden, the
gaggle parted and I glimpsed a … a … <i>whaaaa?</i>
… a highwayman with clipped beard, commanding black cape, billowing white
poplin shirt, and pants tucked into high-laced boots.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Kirk!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">We were
off to a magical night at the theater.
The play went – dare I say it? -- smashingly well, due in large part to
Kirk and Steph’s dramatic prowess.
Afterward Emerson Blake, editor of <i>Orion</i>
magazine, said to me, “Amazing. You <i>memorized</i> that whole script!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">A few
weeks later the <i>Village Voice</i> ran a
cartoon making fun of us for being foolhardy in challenging modern technology,
and <i>New York</i> magazine published “Die,
Computer, Die” cynically trashing Kirkpatrick’s book, Scott Savage’s <i>Plain</i> magazine, Jeremy Rifkin’s
anti-genetic engineering efforts –- and featuring a reference reeking of urban
superiority to the “mud hut” (read: adobe house) that was at the time my home
in New Mexico.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">New York</span></st1:place></st1:state><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">, I
guess, was still swirling with the headiness of its Streamlined Days.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="text-align: start;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">This blog is a book. Please feel free to read the next chapter now. Go to the Table of Contents under the introduction on the right side of the page and click on the next chapter.</span></i></b></div>
Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-82969832391892530912012-10-21T15:39:00.000-07:002012-11-13T16:15:54.116-08:00IX: fear and loathing in los alamos <br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">But did the <i>Village</i> <i>Voice</i>’s aerodynamic bravado provide an accurate assessment? The Cerro Grande fire that nearly charred the
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s
premiere nuclear weapons lab gave the sense that it did not. This report of my evacuation from the fire
was written on the fly, from various motels and greasy spoons along the escape
route, and came out in <i>Orion</i> magazine
in 2001.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">According to Hindu
philosophy, humanity is entering the Age of Kali Yuga. It’s predicted as a time
of chaos, death, and purification. If things are not up to snuff in the
universe, it prophesizes, we can expect the revenge of the deities. And we can
expect the specialty of the age’s own deity, Kali herself, and that specialty
is fire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Friday May
5: the wind picks up over <st1:state w:st="on">New Mexico</st1:state>’s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Bandelier</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">National Monument</st1:placetype></st1:place> that flanks Los Alamos
National Laboratory (LANL) where nuclear weapons were first developed during
WWII and are now researched, tested, and stored. The U.S. Park Service is
nursing a 900-acre “prescribed burn” to clear dry brush from the forest floor. It
flares up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Saturday
May 6-9: firefighters battle the blaze with helicopters, air tankers,
bulldozers, shovels, and rakes. The fire is dubbed the Cerro Grande, after the
nearby peak, and it is growing: 3,700 acres of park service and now national
forest are incinerated.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2aTbW3AI8Cc/UJmldUE3uVI/AAAAAAAAAE8/T6-Jg6M5qvU/s1600/fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2aTbW3AI8Cc/UJmldUE3uVI/AAAAAAAAAE8/T6-Jg6M5qvU/s320/fire.jpg" width="290" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">Wednesday
May 10: winds gust chaotically at 50 miles per hour. The fire leaps over
containment lines and flies toward the weapons lab. At the western edge of the
city, the blaze bursts into a firestorm in the treetops; firefighters hurl down
their gear and flee for their lives, their hoses bouncing wildly behind the escaping
trucks. Houses ignite. Some, the ones with propane tanks, detonate like bombs.
Loudspeakers blare: residents are given 15 minutes to evacuate. The fire
reaches three LANL research areas, including the weapons-engineering tritium
facility, Technical Area 16, also home to an enormous under-ground waste dump
called Material Disposal Area R.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The cloud
of sometimes brown, sometimes red smoke has been streaming northeast of Los
Alamos into the Chicano farming <st1:placetype w:st="on">village</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Chimayó</st1:placename>, up the mountain to the
forest pueblo of Truchas, and into southern <st1:state w:st="on">Colorado</st1:state>,
<st1:state w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:state>, and <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kansas</st1:place></st1:state>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">It's 3
a.m. I'm at home in Chimayó conducting a psychotherapy session with a client on
the phone, and she is rapping away about her problems. The tube is on in the
background, soundless but shrieking black and white images of 100-foot ponderosas
bursting into flame. The smoke outside my window is blood red, and suddenly a
caption appears on the screen: THE VOICE OF SENATOR PETE DOMENICI. I butt in: "I'm
so sorry. <st1:place w:st="on">Los Alamos</st1:place> is burning down. I have
to end the session." In all my
years of practicing psychotherapy, I have never done this. More red smoke wafts
by the window. Another tree explodes, and the senator tells us: The wind is
blowing at 60 miles per hour, the fire's headed for the lab, we are grounding
the slurry bombers, the firefighters are retreating, there's nothing more we
can do — except pray.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Pray? There
are 2,100 potential release sites in <st1:place w:st="on">Los Alamos</st1:place>.
There's radioactive stuff the scientists just threw into the canyons back in
the 1940s. There are toxic dumps and decontamination facilities, incinerators
and radioactive waste pits, shops for machining radioactive materials and
decommissioned reactors. There's Tech Area 55, where weapons-grade material is
fashioned into radioactive batteries, and a storage facility where nuclear
weapons are shielded in concrete bunkers. There's Tech Area 15, a firing range
where 220 tons of depleted uranium and high explosives have been dispersed onto
open ground. And there's Tech Area 54, where 50,000 55-gallon drums containing
chemical and radioactive waste are waiting aboveground for shipment to the
Waste Isolation Pilot Project in southern <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New Mexico</st1:place></st1:state>, and another 1 million drums
sitting underground.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SVPtAUTyeok/UJmlEYfBduI/AAAAAAAAAE0/DEqy4C1vF1w/s1600/fire2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SVPtAUTyeok/UJmlEYfBduI/AAAAAAAAAE0/DEqy4C1vF1w/s320/fire2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">As if in
slow motion, I rise from the couch. I take out a nylon suitcase and, without
emotion, place in it three pairs of jeans, three shirts, three sets of
underwear, and my cowboy boots. I do not pick out a meaningful photograph. Not
even a teddy bear. Nothing meaningful. Then I walk out the door, climb into my
1977 Honda Civic, and drive into the smoke.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The wind
is hurling itself toward the northeast. The evacuees have been sent south to
churches, high schools, and hotels in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Santa
Fe</st1:place></st1:city>. I aim toward the presumably clear air of the
northwest. I have to penetrate the worst of the smoke plume to get there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Things are
eerie out here. Silence and a fog of ash hover over the Chevy pick-ups and
low-riding Grand Ams creeping along Highway 76. I get to Española, the
Chicano-Indian town immediately down the mesa from <st1:place w:st="on">Los
Alamos</st1:place>. A red-hot sun is just dropping behind the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Jemez</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Mountains</st1:placetype></st1:place>.
Then I drive a few miles north and look back. I gasp. The entire valley, from
Los Alamos in the west all the way up the <st1:place w:st="on">Sangre de Cristo
mountains</st1:place> to the east, is blanketed in black smoke. The faces of
my friends in Chimayó and Truchas pass before my eyes. Linda Pedro. Max
Córdova. Orlando and Mary. I do pray. I pray they have gotten out. In all,
11,000 people from <st1:place w:st="on">Los Alamos</st1:place> will
evacuate. Another estimated 40,000 from
White Rock, Española, the villages, Indian pueblos, <st1:city w:st="on">Santa
Fe</st1:city>, and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Taos</st1:place></st1:city>
will pack up their jeans and cowboy boots and bolt for some semblance of
safety. I am one of those people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The Abiquiú Inn lies
one hill beyond the smoke. The sign — VACANCY — cackles fire-red, and I
stop. An unshaven scientist type stands
like a battered alien at the front desk.
The clerk asks his address. "I don't think...I...have one," he
spits out. I tell her I'm on the run too, and she gives me a room for free.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I try to
turn on the tube. In some unkempt stab at bringing modernization to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">New Mexico</st1:state></st1:place>, the Abiquiú
Inn has inserted Primestar where rabbit ears used to sit. You have to be a
rocket scientist -- which is what most of the other guests are — to operate the
thing. I squint at the instructions, fumble with the buttons, and finally
achieve a high-definition picture: but it's the news from ... <i>oh Lord</i> ... <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Atlanta</st1:city></st1:place>. At least the headline is the fire. I
see the same exploding ponderosas and now, in addition, hundreds of houses
going up. For my purposes of dodging the plume, though, I need news about the
wind, the kind they broadcast out of Albuquerque, pinpoint Doppler. There is no
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Albuquerque</st1:place></st1:city>
news. And as befits American television reporting, it seems that suddenly,
miraculously in fact, there is no lab in <st1:place w:st="on">Los Alamos</st1:place>.
There are apparently only pine trees and private homes in <st1:place w:st="on">Los
Alamos</st1:place> now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Thursday
May 11: the wind is back at 60 miles per hour.
John Peterson of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Santa
Fe</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">National Forest</st1:placetype></st1:place>
announces that the fire is "zero percent contained." Twenty-five
thousand acres are now gone — old-growth ponderosa and fir forests become
stands of blackened skeletons; countless deer, elk, turkey, and owl burned to
death or sent into terrorized flight. Two hundred and thirty-five homes in <st1:place w:st="on">Los Alamos</st1:place> have been incinerated, 300 others are
damaged. Everywhere cars are melded into
pavement. LANL deputy director Dick Burdick survives when the fire blazes right
over his underground communications bunker. Reemerging to a scene of char and
embers, he says, "This is what Hell looks like."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">It's a
catastrophe. A fire, yes. A terrible fire. But it also holds the possibility of
being a technological disaster, maybe on the order of Three Mile Island or <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chernobyl</st1:place></st1:city>. I spent 15
years in the antinuclear movement along with the likes of Drs. Robert Jay
Lifton, John Mack, and Hank Vyner, focusing our expertise as mental health
professionals on the psychological ramifications of the arms race. I protested
the weapons build-up of the Reagan years and later worked with Navajo and
Laguna Pueblo uranium miners to gain compensation for cancer deaths. For my
book, <i>When Technology Wounds</i>, I
interviewed people made ill by exposure to health-threatening technologies:
asbestos workers, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Love</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Canal</st1:placetype></st1:place> residents, Dalkon
Shield users, electronic plant workers, downwinders, atomic veterans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">For
survivors of invisible contaminants, I learned, outrage and uncertainty are the
two predominant emotional ordeals.
Outrage because the harm was human caused; it didn't have to happen. The
Cerro Grande fire didn't have to happen: the park service didn't have to set
it, and the Department of Energy (DOE) didn't have to neglect its contaminated sites
all these years. Uncertainty because it is impossible to know what has happened
or what will happen. Has exposure taken place? To whom? Where? Will future health be affected? Are
the land and water contaminated? Uncertainty is attended by fear and
hypervigilance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">For me,
sitting all fearful and hypervigilant on my motel bed, uncertainty becomes the
name of the game. My only lifeline is to call a friend. Luckily for me, my
friends down in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Santa Fe</st1:place></st1:city>
have placed themselves at the center of the firestorm: the antinuclear watchdog
Los Alamos Study Group (LASG) headed by Zen Buddhist Greg Mello. Anthropologist
Merida Blanco caretakes a meditation center in Santa Fe and is waffling on
whether or not to leave the state. Playwright Robert Shaw, in recognition of
the devilish nature of the fire, renames himself "Dr. 666" and
decides that his best bet at getting life-or-death facts is to act as Greg
Mello's gofer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Information
is what we need and don't have. Should I stay put at the Abiquiú Inn? Will the
wind shift? And most important, what's in the smoke? Uranium? Plutonium?
Americium? Strontium-90? Beryllium? Tuolene? Dioxins? Hydrochloric acid?
Asbestos? Is this the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chernobyl</st1:place></st1:city>
of the Age of Kali Yuga? Or is it, as lab public relations continues to insist,
just a forest fire?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I told you
Greg Mello is a Zen student. His most harrowing sesshin now lies before him. He
takes $300 out of LASG's waning coffers and rents a Cessna 152 at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Santa Fe</st1:city></st1:place> airport. Mello
then flies into the plume with a Geiger counter. He returns with a numerical
detail that is crucial for us all: at least in the parts of the smoke cloud he
flies through, at the moment of his flight, there is no elevation of radiation.
With this act, one wide-open eye is surely painted onto Mello's Bodhidaruma
doll, indicating the awakening long sought by Zen meditation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I'm
feeling less spiritual about it. I think the guy deserves a standing ovation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The inn is
morosely quiet. The evacuees from <st1:place w:st="on">Los Alamos</st1:place>
are stiff, the anguish seemingly stuck in the marrow of their bones. The wind
shifts from blowing toward the northeast to heading northwest. Primestar from <st1:city w:st="on">Atlanta</st1:city> doesn't tell me this; I get it from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Merida</st1:city></st1:place>. I determine to
head north, straight up the middle, hoping to outrun the plume. But I am heading
into territory I don't know. As I drive, I suddenly feel more solitary than
ever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The <st2:sn w:st="on">San</st2:sn> <st2:middlename w:st="on">Luis</st2:middlename> <st2:sn w:st="on">Valley</st2:sn> of central <st1:state w:st="on">Colorado</st1:state>
is like a displaced piece of <st1:state w:st="on">Iowa</st1:state>, all flat
and spread out between the Sangre de Cristo and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Juan</st1:place></st1:city> mountain ranges, speckled with cows
and mobile homes whose roofs are held down by old tires. I pass through
Antonito, Romeo, La Jara. Filling up the Honda, I have this vague memory of a
town in these parts called Crestone. Determining to find it, I aim north,
overshoot the Crestone turnoff, double back, rampage down the wrong dirt road,
and land at the Willow Spring Bed and Breakfast, a funky Victorian hotel in the
middle of nowhere. It is run by a couple of Tibetan Buddhist bodhisattvas whose
dedication to hospitality includes a three-course breakfast of exotic fruits,
home-baked pastries, organic eggs, and fine English teas. Nothing happens
here. Except an antique wire raps
against the brick exterior in an innocent fit of wind. Except I arrive in a
whirlwind of stress and a relentless urgency to hog the inn's one telephone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Friday May
12: this is the big day. The fire has penetrated LANL, and it's zero percent
contained. According to Lee McAtlee of LANL's Environment, Safety, and Health
Division, "Half of what you think it's going to do, it doesn't do. And
half of what you think it's not going to do, it sneaks up and does." It
sneaks up and rages, at 2000 degrees, toward three inflammable sites. TA 55,
home of the plutonium facility: the fire rips over the heads of the
firefighters, encasing them in Kali's rage. It closes in on all but one side,
and thanks to the vagaries of the wind and the courageous work of human beings,
it draws within inches of the razor-wire fence and stops. TA 54, where over a
million barrels could explode transuranic waste into the air: some truly deft
firefighting halts the inferno's advance within a half mile of the storage
areas. TA 18, where nuclear experiments provide enough materials to make
several bombs: the site is encircled by fire but not engulfed. New Mexico
Governor Gary Johnson calls the day "a miracle."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">With its
temperamental carburetor and miniature tires, the Honda miraculously rattles up
a rocky road to the North Crestone Trail. I take a deep breath and embark upon
what the innkeepers deem will be good for me:
a hike. I head across a meadow, just now coming alive with spring
wildflowers, and find a creek rushing down the mountain all cold and clear.
Fording it seems a task I am incapable of enacting. I sit down on the ground.
And then I see it. Lying on a piece of mica-flecked granite, a brand-new pair
of elk skin work gloves. My first thought is not: someone lost their gloves,
I'll return them. It's not: hot damn!
Free gloves! No. It's: Don't touch those things, they're <i>radioactive</i>. Then the whole thing hits
me. I burst into uncontrollable sobs. First, for the ponderosas and squirrels,
the trout and deer. Then I cry for the park service administrator responsible
for the burn, how unspeakably tortured he must feel. Next, the evacuees at the
Abiquiú Inn and all the hotels and churches in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Santa Fe</st1:city></st1:place>, the people whose homes are now
rubble. Then I cry for my village. Are the river and forest contaminated? Will
we be able to use the irrigation ditch again? Hunt elk? Grow corn? Will our
lives ever be the same? Then I cry for myself. Will I have to leave Chimayó?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Yet
another emotional ride accompanies this journey, and it isn't until I get
beyond flight mentality that I sense its emergence. This one is made of
conflicting realities, and the tension between them appears irresolvable. On
one side, the psyche wants to believe in the comfy reality of normalcy. The
fire is no big deal, it insists, that nasty plume of smoke foretelling doom is
a normal cloud from a normal forest fire. The officials, after all, say everything's
okay. My bodhisattvas at the inn, after all, seem untouched by fear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Until
Saturday, when suddenly every guest sitting around the breakfast table is an
escapee from the fire. Conversation turns to <st1:place w:st="on">Los Alamos</st1:place>.
Enter normalcy's nemesis: the stripped-down reality of crisis. An older woman
from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Santa Fe</st1:city></st1:place>
was married to one of the early scientists at the Manhattan Project, and he
died of a brain tumor. This fact reminds the couple from <st1:city w:st="on">Taos</st1:city>
of an epidemiological study a <st1:place w:st="on">Los Alamos</st1:place>
artist did revealing an inordinate number of brain cancers in his neighborhood.
Everyone recalls cynically that, during <st1:place w:st="on">Three Mile Island</st1:place>,
the government did not deliver accurate information to the public. Nor during <st1:placename w:st="on">Love</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Canal</st1:placetype>
or Church Rock or <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Times</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Beach</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Meanwhile,
on the phone, Dr. 666 is the man with the details. Shadowing Greg Mello, he
seems to know whatever there is to know. Forty-two thousand acres are burned.
The fire is only 5 percent contained. Twenty percent of the city is gone, 30
percent of the lab. Indeed, Tech Areas 54, 55, and 18 emerge unscathed. But the
blaze eats up 300 sites with documented surface contamination, including Tech
Area 15 which is littered with chemical high explosives, toxic metals, and some
220 tons of depleted uranium. Tech Area 16's Material Disposal Area R burns
and, with it, solvents, beryllium, uranium, and barium. Many of the homes that burned were built
before 1980, meaning asbestos is flung into the wind. A <st1:state w:st="on">Montana</st1:state>
hotshot crew of Arapahoe and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cheyenne</st1:place></st1:city>
firefighting professionals, reports that the plume does not smell like forest
fire smoke; it smells like chemicals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
reality of crisis gouges into my being like fingernails in Play Dough. I awake
each morning gripped with the thought that I have lost my home to
contamination. I am eating like a wild boar and losing weight, sleeping ten
hours and waking up exhausted. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Merida</st1:city></st1:place>
tries to console me. The anguish will be relieved on Wednesday, she says. Irate
with both the park service and the DOE, the New Mexico Environment Department
(NMED) will issue its own report detailing radiological and chemical
measurements of the air and, we hope, the soil and water. Then we will know,
she says. I determine that on Wednesday I will decide if I can return home. Or
not. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In the
face of fear and no facts, rumors fly. A LANL scientist who lives 40 miles from
the lab measured his own house for radio-toxins — and fled. The state almost
evacuated <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Santa Fe</st1:place></st1:city>.
The state almost evacuated all of northern <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New Mexico</st1:place></st1:state>. The Russian government offered
the <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> some high-tech
firefighting airplanes, and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Washington</st1:state></st1:place>
refused the offer. The park service administrator who okayed the prescribed
burn is suicidal. The realm of scientific fact seems no more certain. The
promised report doesn't come out on Wednesday. To our amazement, the NMED
announces it is no longer working independently, but is now in cahoots with
LANL and the DOE. For whatever it might now be worth, their joint report
doesn't come out on Thursday. Or Friday</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">. </span><span lang="EN-US">(2001) <a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%209.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">This blog is a book. Please feel free to read the next chapter now. Go to the Table of Contents under the introduction on the right side of the page and click on the next chapter.</span></i></b></div>
<div>
<!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%209.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Part I of
Chellis Glendinning, “Fear and Loathing in <st1:place w:st="on">Los Alamos</st1:place>:
On the Lam from the Cerro Grande Fire,” <i>Orion,</i>
Winter 2001.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-35870146437076885802012-10-20T15:51:00.000-07:002012-11-13T15:59:14.436-08:00X: more fear and loathing <br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">Dr. 666 reports that 47,000 acres have burned and the fire is
now 70 percent contained. The laboratory
is out of immediate danger. But the blaze has dropped into the canyons leading
to nearby Santa Clara Pueblo. It rages now toward their sacred sites. And there's a new problem in view: runoff.
The mountain above <st1:place w:st="on">Los Alamos</st1:place> is completely
denuded. In a few weeks, when the summer rains begin, floods could gush tons of
mud down the barren slopes and into burned neighborhoods. It is projected that,
if two inches of rain were to fall in one hour, the mud could take out <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Pueblo</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Canyon</st1:placetype></st1:place>
bridge. Or breach the Los Alamos Reservoir dam. The resulting wall of water
could then spill like <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pompeii</st1:place></st1:city>'s
lava down the canyons and pick up the contaminants now mixed with ashen soils
no longer anchored by trees and grasses.
The whole transuranic stew could then flush into the <st1:city w:st="on">Rio
Grande</st1:city> and flow downstream — through eight pueblos, the cities of <st1:city w:st="on">Santa Fe</st1:city> and <st1:city w:st="on">Albuquerque</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state>, and all the way to the <st1:place w:st="on">Gulf
of Mexico</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">"It doesn't sound good," I tell
666. My voice is hoarse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">"No.
It doesn't."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";"> "I thought I would know enough to make a decision about
coming home by now," I say. "What do we know?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">"Nothing. Everything's a scenario.
Nothing's tacked down."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">He describes a community meeting pulled
together by antinuclear activists and organic growers at the Cloud Cliff Bakery
in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Santa Fe</st1:place></st1:city>. It
is a scene of fear and anger. A farmer from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Dixon</st1:city></st1:place> shouts that the smoke smothering his
village was neon orange. A Truchas man says he couldn't see through the
floating ash to the hay bales in his yard. What have we been exposed to? everyone wants to know. Two officials from
the NMED attend the meeting. They listen but say little.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">"Come home." 666 surprises me. "The smoke is pretty
much gone. When you see the place, you'll be able to make your own decision.
Come home."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">I don't really need more confirmation that
we're living in a postmodern world, but here it is: choices of the most crucial
import come down to personal perception. Until this moment, I have been pinning
my future safety on some apparently impossible illusion of scientific certainty.
The truth is: I may never know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">Friday, May 20: I aim the Honda south. It
sports three new cracks on the windshield and a multitude of new rattles emanates
from somewhere in the rear. Indeed, when I pass Antonito mountain, the sky to
the south is blue, with only a few whitish fire clouds riding the <st1:placename w:st="on">Jemez</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Mountains</st1:placetype>
over <st1:place w:st="on">Los Alamos</st1:place>. I enter the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Española</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Valley</st1:placetype></st1:place>
through the old road at San Juan Pueblo. I am not prepared for what I see and
feel. The air is crystalline. The valley is infused with the sweetness of the
Russian olive blossom — and a monstrous human heaviness dwelling lower than the
axles of a lowrider.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">My house looks okay, except the soil in my
garden has long since cracked dry and the plants withered into oblivion. I
dedicate myself to leaving it as is — the 2000 <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Disaster</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Garden</st1:placetype></st1:place>,
I call it— dried out seedbeds in testimony of the Cerro Grande fire. I surprise
myself on Sunday when, like a mirror of disaster survivors everywhere, I wake
up wanting flowers. To the vaqueros and farmers of the valley, a store that
sells flowers, and from other regions to boot, is anathema to local ecology,
and indeed the one-year-old Golden Leaf in Española has not been stampeded with
business. But on this Sunday, the first calm weekend after the worst of the
fire, the place is stampeded. Like me, everyone suddenly wants flowers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">Uncertainty does not recede because I am
back in Chimayó. I pore over the
newspaper, glue my eyes to the local news, learn everything about the <st1:place w:st="on">Los Alamos</st1:place> homeowners' tragedy — but nothing about
possible contamination. Meanwhile, the fire finds its final resting place in
the canyons above Santa Clara Pueblo, and indeed it destroys their sacred
sites.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">Since the fire began, LASG has been busy
conducting bird's-eye surveys of the fire, ascertaining facts from government
agencies, being interviewed by the media, fielding a phone call every minute
from the public. I break into Greg Mello's swirl of urgency and take him to
lunch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">He tells me that the NMED has, at last,
posted some statistics on their website. But there are problems with the
figures — the main one being that they may not be accurate. The problem is not new to LANL. If you want
to know where old dump sites are or the location of a weapons bunker, you're
faced with a purposely tangled labyrinth of numbers and details. Greg has been
studying LANL for a decade, and he still doesn't have a comprehensive picture.
As to facts about the fire, he describes the problem as "a military-like
clamp on information." Thirty percent of the lab and 40 buildings burned,
he says, and yet the media was told that only a couple of trailers went up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">Whatever is known becomes so because of
public outcry. Some 160 air-quality monitors are finally set up by DOE, EPA,
and NMED teams. Some are "rad swipes" put in place for only brief
moments. Others are for continued sampling. Most are geared to check for radio-nuclides,
a few to test for chemicals. The radiation figures range from zero elevation to
ten times normal. For chemicals, they
show no elevation. But when were the samples taken? And in what locations? In
fact, no government agency admits to taking measurements in the most affected
places during the worst of the fire. Plus, a "deep throat" from the
lab discloses to antinuclear groups that the monitors located in the most
sensitive areas of the lab were not even functioning during the fire. Most of
the fallout blew northeast, in the direction of Española, Chimayó, and Truchas,
but these places were not tested. After the fire, DOE-contracted Bechtel <st1:state w:st="on">Nevada</st1:state> did one lonely rad swipe in Española, and the bulk
of the others to the south, toward <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Santa
Fe</st1:city></st1:place> where the wind rarely blows. Another arena for controversy
concerns the nature of measured radionuclides. Are they normal forest fire
by-products like radon daughters which emit alpha and beta, as the lab insists?
Or are they gamma radionuclides, the human-made kind that would be emitted from
the lab? LANL and the DOE skirt such questions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">Meanwhile, by happenstance, a cadre of
Russian peace activists and scientists has been visiting <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">New Mexico</st1:state></st1:place>. Sergei Pashchenko of the
International Depleted Uranium Study Team has been pronouncing that radiation
levels are 30 times above normal. Again, the question is where and when? Whatever the answer, he's had an impact. I
run into a couple of Chimayosos at Sam's Club in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Santa Fe</st1:place></st1:city> who, freaked to the gills after
meeting Pashchenko, bolt from their home. They beg me to leave too. I'm scared,
but I have to chuckle when I ask them where they moved and they answer "<st1:place w:st="on">Pecos</st1:place>." <st1:place w:st="on">Pecos</st1:place> lies
east, just over the mountain from Chimayó. As we know from the travel patterns
of radioiodine after the <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nevada</st1:place></st1:state>
above-ground tests of the 1950s, airborne contaminants do not necessarily land
near their source. They can glide on the wind for miles and drop down in, say, <st1:place w:st="on">Pecos</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">Mello gives an ironic chuckle over his egg
salad sandwich. He knows someone who,
aiming in the 1980s to flee the ravages of war, moved to the <st1:place w:st="on">Falkland
Islands</st1:place>. He looks me in the eye with his Zen grip. "What
place is safe anymore?" he presses, and I get the feeling we are holding
on with no more than this breath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">Wednesday May 24: the fire is almost contained. It has burned a
total of 48,000 acres of park service, national forest, LANL, city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Los Alamos</st1:place></st1:city>, and Santa
Clara Pueblo lands. At its peak, over 1400 firefighters fought the blaze. Now
there are 600. The immediate damage
could exceed $1 billion.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";"><br /></span>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">Dr. 666 and I attend the second meeting at
Cloud Cliff Bakery. This time officials from LANL and NMED join antinuclear
activists, environmental illness doctors, and pueblo leaders on the panel. The
by-now predictable clash of realities is played out like a drama with no final
curtain. The lab people adamantly claim normalcy as regards emissions; the
antinuclear folks parade the unknowns and official evasions. Finally, a man
from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>
jumps up and bellows, "HOW MANY ATOMS DOES IT TAKE TO KILL A
PERSON?!" Everyone freezes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">The calmest speaker is Vickie Downie of
Tesuque Pueblo. She reminds us that, similar to Hindu prophesies, Native
American predictions have long foretold a time of volcanoes, earthquakes,
droughts, floods, and fires if humankind does not respect the Earth. We are living in these times, she says. The
essential point is not to try to control them. It is how we live them. Not enough people are thanking Creation for
the water, trees, animals, and land, she says, and she invites us to express
gratitude in our every thought and act.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">At the dawn of the Nuclear Age, when Los
Alamos scientists blasted the first atomic bomb across the New Mexico desert,
J. Robert Oppenheimer quoted the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita: "Now
I am become Death, the destroyer of
worlds." To some people the Cerro Grande fire represents vengeance of the
original death, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hiroshima</st1:place></st1:city>'s
blackened skeleton returned to its source. To some, the fire is the revenge of
the Anasazi who lived at Bandelier before the white people intruded with their
laboratories and bombs. To others, it is the work of the Hindu deity Kali at
the start of the Age of Kali Yuga.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">Outside the meeting, 666 and I linger among
the last of the olive blossoms. To us all, the Cerro Grande fire has been a
terrible confrontation with the current disarray of human existence and a call
to remember, through the layers of fear and loathing, who we are. The good
doctor vows to return to his former identity; he is ready to rename himself Robert
Shaw. He walks me to my Honda and, neither aflame with confidence nor beaten
into ash, I make a vow too. I vow to drive home.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(2001)</span><a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2010.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div>
<!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<br />
<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">This blog is a book. Please feel free to read the next chapter now. Go to the Table of Contents under the introduction on the right side of the page and click on the next chapter.</span></i></b><br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2010.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Part II
of Chellis Glendinning, “Fear and Loathing in <st1:place w:st="on">Los Alamos</st1:place>:
On the Lam from the Cerro Grande Fire,” <i>Orion,</i>
Winter 2001, pp. 50-59.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-68483810259974829532012-10-19T15:50:00.000-07:002012-11-13T16:00:17.638-08:00XI: jacques ellul didn’t see it coming because it was invisible <br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Computers come in;
with each day the centrality of telephone and post office wanes. Of all things to draw the contours of what
has yet to unfold, the <i>Ecopsychology
Newsletter</i> switches from recycled-paper-<i>cum</i>-soy-ink
delivered to your (real) mailbox over to cyberspace, while a course in
primitive earth-living skills appears on the web. At the same time in-person meetings, dinners,
and parties diminish in frequency. The
rush to everywhere and nowhere is launched.
24/7. Overwhelm takes over. Efficiency sets in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Community
takes the hit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Helena
Norberg-Hodge was right to see it coming, announcing in the mid-‘90’s that the
exchange of instant information via email and websites could never substitute
for peopled social movements.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> But the technology is now everywhere, and its
purveyors are making an all-points display of techno-fix bravado about its
ability to intervene in the problems previous technologies have in fact
caused. You do not see your comrades so
much in person anymore; friendships are kept alive by staring at a screen
throwing brash light at your eyes, electromagnetic radiation at your breasts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">learn data
nothinglose gain pluto packstate
boxrocks broken breach fury whipmax exxaq immune mall scrapingscrimping craving sclerosis
anxiety gun whipup tsunami animalsdie<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I lift Stephanie
Mills’ report of the Jacques Ellul Society Mega-technology meetings from the
bookshelf. <i>Turning</i> <i>Away from Technology</i>’s
subtitle seems now sadly preposterous:
“A New Vision for the 21<sup>st</sup> century.”<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"> <a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></a></span> The whole 256 pages, in fact, vaults off its
post-consumer-recovered-waste locus like a cry from an era of ink wells and
quill pens. Not that the perspective
spoken herein is not as true and needed as ever; it’s just that the
post-computer-cell-phone-entertainment-center/post-wireless-Katrina-Iraq-BP-spill
ambiance we now inhabit has so altered the ground we stand on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Here is
feminist philosopher Susan <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Griffin</st1:place></st1:city>
speaking: “Science hasn’t stopped disease; in fact, we are as concerned as ever
about coming plagues. Technology has
destroyed much of the environment and is now threatening the jobs of untold
millions. The market hasn’t decreased
poverty; rather the gap between rich and poor is larger than ever. Growing doubt challenging the new trinity
(science, technology, capitalism), and especially technology, allows us<i> a unique opportunity to provide an
alternate vision</i>.”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Listen
to Zapatista advisor Gustavo Esteva: “As far as I can see … most people on
Earth <i>do not have a ‘textual mind’</i>
like modern men and women. They have not
allowed the text to redefine and determine their own beings, developing, for
example, the individual selves without which modern men and women cannot face
each other. (Most people) are not
individual selves, but knots in nets of relations, determining their own views
of themselves and others. Those of them
who become literate may often be reshaped as individual selves -- but <i>many are now resisting such prospect</i>.”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn4" name="_ednref4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Here is educator
Chet Bowers: “By amplifying the notion of the individual as the basic social
unit, the computer reduces the possibility of trans-generational communication
… The computer amplifies the modern orientation toward a highly experimental
culture … Computers amplify a moral framework that represents relationships as
human-centered and instrumental … Computers are now becoming a root metaphor
that is leading us to re-metaphorize fundamental ways of understanding human
experience, including life itself.”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn5" name="_ednref5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Cogent. The hallmark of intelligence, in fact. And yet somehow … now … so very <i>passé -- as</i> if we have time today to
present alternative visions; as if pre-textual mind had a chance to forego the
radioactive screen; as if the drawbacks of computers could be understood and
the machines might be marginalized! No,
the fracturing forces the group identified with such clarity, the results we
predicted, and many more we could not have foreseen – they came upon us like so
many tsunamis to the shores of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Indonesia</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KuWg6pY08Ww/UJmh4yI3KmI/AAAAAAAAAEk/f3ouNGpoUOA/s1600/celltower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KuWg6pY08Ww/UJmh4yI3KmI/AAAAAAAAAEk/f3ouNGpoUOA/s200/celltower.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;">June 2000. An international gathering of scientists
proclaims that no low-end threshold for safe exposure exists for
electromagnetic radiation.</span><a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn6" name="_ednref6" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[vi]</span></span></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">July
2001. In <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region>
demonstrators stage a peaceful protest against <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s planned military communications
towers and demand the release of their prime minister, in jail for doing civil
disobedience atop a 160-foot mast.
Police open fire. A riot ensues.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn7" name="_ednref7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">February
2003. After witnessing the biggest-ever
protest meeting of a village in northern New Mexico, the local school board
cancels an already-signed contract to erect cell towers on its schools.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn8" name="_ednref8" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">March
2003. The Catholic Church in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region> calls for
cell phone antennas to be removed from bell towers, branding them dangerous to
human health and spiritually “out of keeping.”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn9" name="_ednref9" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[ix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">November
2003. In <st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Northern Ireland</st1:country-region>
outraged citizens bulldoze down cell towers –- as many as four in <st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region> and four in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ireland</st1:place></st1:country-region> each week.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn10" name="_ednref10" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[x]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">August
2004. The International Association of
Firefighters calls for a moratorium on citing cell-phone antennas on fire
stations.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn11" name="_ednref11" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">February
2006. Citing health concerns, <st1:placename w:st="on">Ontario</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype>
in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region></st1:place>
bans Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) from campus.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn12" name="_ednref12" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">September
2006. The International Commission for
Electromagnetic Safety releases the Benevento Resolution; signed by 31
scientists, it calls on governments to impose exposure limits.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn13" name="_ednref13" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xiii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">May
2007. A BBC Panorama investigation finds
that Wi-Fi ports can emit three times the signal radiation of a cell tower.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn14" name="_ednref14" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xiv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">June
2007. In <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Spain</st1:country-region></st1:place> citizens hold International
Day against Electromagnetic Pollution to publicize the effects of exposure to
high-voltage power lines, electric power substations, mobile telephony aerials,
radio lines, and telecommunications systems like Wi-Fi and Wireless
Inoperability Microwave Access (WiMAX).<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn15" name="_ednref15" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">September
2007. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s Environmental Ministry
issues an unprecedented national warning to citizens: avoid exposure to
radiation emanating from Wi-Fi and WiMAX ports in cafés, schools, public “hot
spots, and private homes.”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn16" name="_ednref16" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xvi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">August
2007. The European Environmental Agency
demands immediate action to reduce exposure to radiation from Wi-Fi, WiMAX,
mobile phones, and antennae.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn17" name="_ednref17" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xvii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">October
2007. Masked protestors in a Druze
village in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>
rip down a mobile phone mast. Police
open fire on them.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn18" name="_ednref18" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xviii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">December
2007. The International Commission for
Electromagnetic Safety recognizes a growing incidence of
electro-hypersensitivity and urges limits on further dissemination of wireless
technologies. Its Venice Resolution is
signed by scientists from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Poland</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sweden</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Brazil</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Austria</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Australia</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region>, and the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region><a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn19" name="_ednref19" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">December
2007. After only five months of the new Wi-Fi
system in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Paris</st1:city></st1:place>’
libraries, the library union wins a moratorium on wireless ports due to the
health effects already evident among clerks and workers.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn20" name="_ednref20" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xx]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">January
2008. For fear of exposure to
electromagnetic radiation, thousands of Chinese demonstrators take to the
streets to protest the extension of a magnetic levitation train through <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Shanghai</st1:place></st1:city>.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn21" name="_ednref21" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xxi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">February
2008. Cell phone antennas in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Tudela</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Spain</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
are ordered removed when damage to citizens’ health is revealed.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn22" name="_ednref22" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xxii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">March
2008. After learning of health impacts,
the Sebastopol City Council in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state></st1:place>
breaks an already-signed contract to install citywide Wi-Fi.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn23" name="_ednref23" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xxiii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">April
2008. The National Library of France
dismantles its entire Wi-Fi system.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn24" name="_ednref24" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xxiv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">September
2008. The West Linn-Wilsonville School
Board of Portland, Oregon, unplugs
already-operating cell towers and cancels all leases for WiMAX.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn25" name="_ednref25" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xxv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">January
2009. The U.S. National Safety Council
calls for a nationwide ban on cell-phone use while driving, citing a Harvard
study that links usage to 636,000 crashes and 2600 yearly deaths.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn26" name="_ednref26" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xxvi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">February
2009. In <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">France</st1:place></st1:country-region> the Versailles Court of
Appeals orders the dismantling of a relay antenna in Tassin la Demi-Lune,
establishing legal recognition of health risks.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn27" name="_ednref27" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xxvii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">April
2009. The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.K.</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s Association of Teachers and
Lecturers calls for suspension of Wi-Fi in classrooms.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn28" name="_ednref28" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xxviii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">May-September
2009. The city of <st1:city w:st="on">Portland</st1:city>,
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Oregon</st1:state></st1:place>,
challenges the U.S. Telecommunications Act’s refusal to consider health effects
in the placement of wireless routers and base stations.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn29" name="_ednref29" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xxix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> The <st1:placename w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">Unified</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">School
District</st1:placetype>, then the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, then <st1:placename w:st="on">Pima</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">County</st1:placetype>
in <st1:state w:st="on">Arizona</st1:state> and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Glendale</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state></st1:place>,
do the same.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn30" name="_ednref30" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xxx]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> March 2012. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Olvera</st1:city>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Spain</st1:country-region></st1:place> becomes
the first town in the world to ban electromagnetic radiation-emitting
technologies.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn31" name="_ednref31" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xxxi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I always knew that
electromagnetic radiation was bad.
Remember how the microwave-oven company told you to jump back when you
turned the thing on? How army radio
communicators and AM-FM personalities had a propensity to keel over from heart
attacks? How blasts of electromagnetic
energy became the most effective killing machines for war?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Yes, I
had put two and two together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">But
little did I know how pervasive telecommunications corporations were to make
electromagnetic technologies in an already disaster-bound world. By 2009, according to Swedish neuroscientist
Dr. Olle Johansson and environmental lawyer Mats Dämvik, the amount of
microwave exposure resulting from this expansion may now be as much as <i>one million</i> <i>billion times</i> greater than the natural radiation life evolved into.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn32" name="_ednref32" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xxxii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> At the end of his life, when abiding by the
rigors of scientific admission became unimportant to him, founder of
bio-electromagnetic studies Dr. Robert O. Becker proclaimed, “At the present
time … the greatest polluting element in the earth’s environment is the
proliferation of electromagnetic fields.
I consider (it) to be far greater, on a global scale, than warming or
the increase of chemicals in the environment.”<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn33" name="_ednref33" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xxxiii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">On the
global scale the World Trade Organization’s policies of corporate rule and
market-place hegemony lay the basis of unimpeded proliferation. In the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> the Telecommunications Act of
1996 is what threw the industry open for full-tilt-boogey development. Only one out of all the elected officials in
Congress actually read the Manhattan-telephone-book-sized tome, while the other
legislators seemed to assume that the act dealt with ho-hum utilities matters.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn34" name="_ednref34" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xxxiv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> But, in fact, its designers were poised with
fangs sharpened for the profit grab of all time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">It is
said that the legislation was forged specifically to avoid the “pitfalls” the
nuclear industry had encountered after its survivors –- downwinders, uranium
miners, atomic veterans –- began suing the government; industry protection from
liability for health effects is built in, and the ability for citizens to
determine if and where antennas go or use biological effects as an argument to
ban them are built out.<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_edn35" name="_ednref35" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[xxxv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Private property and market “freedom” rule;
democracy and sovereignty -- not. It is
also said that the telecommunications industry with its never-ending parade of
“state-of-the-art” twists on last month’s “so-yesterday” device is the one
commercial endeavor bolstering the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> economy. Without growth from telecommunications, it is
thought, the financial system would not recover from the house-of-cards
collapse that occurred in 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">My
education as a contemporary Luddite prepared me to see what was going on. Along with my colleagues at the Jacques Ellul
Society, I had studied the means and methods of technology dissemination. But since our last meeting in 1996, I have
stood as a lonely witness to the perpetration of what could be the most
astounding scam of all time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">As with
nuclear weapons and power, the strategy has been to construct civilian
acceptance so that the military’s electromagnetic weaponry would appear
mundane. With nuclear, if people thought
the source of their electricity was as normal as the washing machines it ran,
then they might believe atomic weapons were normal too. The same strategy has been reinvented by the
telecommunications industry. If you are
unquestionably jazzed about your ability to take a photo of Brad Pitt jumping
into a cab or download a tune from your childhood, if you insist on your
“right” to tell your mother you are now seated in the airplane, if you fear
being alone in the woods –- all of which are urges not symptomatic of being a
human being, but of living in mass
technological society -- then you are the perfect subject for technologies that
make you “feel” less alone, more taken care of, more potent. Why would you want to contemplate such pesky
aspects of your new-found saviors as their effects on your child’s nervous
system? Or your neighbor’s heart
rhythms? Why would you dare to burst
through the veil of encapsulated individualism that defines mass consumer
society -- and think for a moment of the <i>whole
of life</i>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">This blog is a book. Please feel free to read the next chapter now. Go to the Table of Contents under the introduction on the right side of the page and click on the next chapter.</span></i></b><br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Statement
by Helena Norberg-Hodge, Mega-technology Conference, Jacques Ellul Society,
Dartington Hall, Devon <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.K.</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
October, 1994.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Stephanie
Mills, <i>Turning Away from Technology: A
New Vision for the 21<sup>st</sup> Century</i>. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:city>: Sierra Club Books, 1997.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref3" name="_edn3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif";"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Stephanie Mills, <i>Turning Away from Technology</i>, p. 65.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn4">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref4" name="_edn4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Stephanie
Mills, <i>Turning Away from Technology</i>,
p. 174.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn5">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref5" name="_edn5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Stephanie
Mills, <i>Turning Away from Technology</i>,
pp. 182-3.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn6">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref6" name="_edn6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">
International Conference on Cell Tower Siting, Salzburg Resolution, June 8, 2000, <a href="http://www.salzburg.gv.at/salzburg_resolution_e.htm">www.salzburg.gv.at/salzburg_resolution_e.htm</a>
.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn7">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref7" name="_edn7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> David
Graves, “Battle of Bases Will Go On,”<i>Telegraph,</i>
July 5, 2001.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn8">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref8" name="_edn8" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> The
author participated in this effort along with Stephanie Mills, Chet Bowers, and
others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn9">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref9" name="_edn9" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[ix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Bruce
Johnson, “Church Tolls the Knell for Phone Masts,” <i>Telegraph</i>, March 5, 2003.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn10">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref10" name="_edn10" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[x]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Daniel
Foggo, “British Protestors Topple Mobile Phone Masts as Health Scare Spreads,”<i> Telegraph</i>, November 30, 2003.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn11">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref11" name="_edn11" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> International
Association of Firefighters, Cell Tower Resolution, August 2004, <a href="http://www.iaff.org/hs/Resi/CellTowerFinal.htm">www.iaff.org/hs/Resi/CellTowerFinal.htm</a>
.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn12">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref12" name="_edn12" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> John
Leyden, “<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Canadian</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> Hot Under the
Collar Over Wi-Fi,” <i>The Register</i>,
February 22, 2006.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn13">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref13" name="_edn13" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xiii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> International Commission for Electromagnetic
Safety, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Benevento</st1:place></st1:city>
Resolution, September 2006. <a href="http://www.icems.org/">www.icems.org</a> .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn14">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref14" name="_edn14" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xiv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> “Wi-Fi –
A Warning Signal,” BBC, May 21, 2007, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/05_may/21/panorama%20.html">www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/05_may/21/panorama
.html</a> .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn15">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref15" name="_edn15" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">
“International Day Against Electromagnetic Pollution,”/“Contaminación
Electromagnético,” <i>Ecologistas en</i> <i>Acción</i>, June 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn16">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref16" name="_edn16" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xvi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Geoffrey
Lean, “<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region></st1:place>
Warns Citizens to Avoid Using Wi-Fi,” <i>Independent,</i>
September 9, 2007. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn17">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref17" name="_edn17" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xvii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Geoffrey
Lean, “<st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>’s Top Environmental Watchdog Is
Calling for Immediate Action To Reduce Exposure,” <i>Independent,</i> September 16, 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn18">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref18" name="_edn18" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xviii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> “Dozens
Hurt in <st1:placename w:st="on">Israel</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Druze</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Village</st1:placetype> Clashes,” <i>Agence-France Presse</i>, <st1:city w:st="on">Jerusalem</st1:city>,
October 30, 2007; and Isabel Kershner,
“Israeli Police Raid on <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Druze</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Town</st1:placetype></st1:place> Turns into Riot,” <i>International Herald Tribune</i>, October
30, 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn19">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref19" name="_edn19" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">
International Commission for Electromagnetic Safety, “The Venice Resolution,”
December 17, 2007, <a href="http://www.icems.eu/">www.icems.eu</a> .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn20">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref20" name="_edn20" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xx]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;"> “Moratoire sur le Wi-Fi dans les Bibiothèques de la Ville de Paris,” <i>Bibiothèques en Lutte: L’actualite
Syndicale des Bibliothèques à Paris</i>, December 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn21">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref21" name="_edn21" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xxi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> “Shanghai
Police Break Up ‘Maglev’ Train Protest,” <i>Reuters</i>,
January 13, 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn22">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref22" name="_edn22" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xxii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;"> Diego Carasusán, “Las Operadores Deberán Retirar en 15 Días 2 Antennae de
Móviles,” <i>Diario de Navarra</i>, Febrero 3, 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn23">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref23" name="_edn23" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xxiii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Sandi
Maurer, “<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Sebastopol</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">CA</st1:state></st1:place> Terminates Contract for Free Citywide Wi-Fi,”
<i>Mobilfunk-Newsletter EMF-Omega-News</i>,
March 20, 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn24">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref24" name="_edn24" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xxiv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> “France
National Library Gives Up Wi-Fi,” <a href="http://www.next-up.org/">www.next-up.org</a>
, April 3, 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn25">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref25" name="_edn25" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xxv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Wendy
Owen, “<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">West</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Linn-Wilsonville</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">School</st1:placetype></st1:place>
Board to Unplug Cell Towers,” <i>The Oregonian,</i> September 14, 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn26">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref26" name="_edn26" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xxvi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> “National
Safety Council Calls for Nationwide Ban on Cell Phone Use While Driving,” <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Itasca</st1:city>
<st1:state w:st="on">IL</st1:state></st1:place>, <a href="http://www.nsc.org/news/cellphone_ban.aspx">www.nsc.org/news/cellphone_ban.aspx</a>
, January 12, 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn27">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref27" name="_edn27" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xxvii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Senateur
Jean Desessard, “Le danger des antennes-relais pour la santé infin reconnu,”<span style="color: blue;">
www.liberation.fr/terre/0101316959-bouygues-telecom-condamne-en-appel-a-demonter-des-antennes-relais</span>
; and <a href="http://www.numerama.com/magazine/11895-Bouygues-condamne-en-appel-a-demonter-une-antenne-relais.html">www.numerama.com/magazine/11895-Bouygues-condamne-en-appel-a-demonter-une-antenne-relais.html</a>
. <u><o:p></o:p></u></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn28">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref28" name="_edn28" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xxviii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> “Fears
That Wi-Fi May Cause Cancer in Children,” April 9, 2009, <a href="http://www.educationmatters.ie/2009/04/09/fears-that-wi-fi-may-cause-cancer-in-children">www.educationmatters.ie/2009/04/09/fears-that-wi-fi-may-cause-cancer-in-children</a>
.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn29">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref29" name="_edn29" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xxix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">
Resolution No. 36706, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">City of Portland</st1:city>,
<st1:state w:st="on">Oregon</st1:state></st1:place>, Commissioner Amanda Fritz,
May 20, 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn30">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref30" name="_edn30" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xxx]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Los Angeles Unified School District
Resolution, May 26, 2009, <a href="http://cloutnow.org/lausd">http://cloutnow.org/lausd</a>/
; “Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Calls for Repeal of Federal Cell
Tower Health Preemption,” June 2, 2009, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">www.org/cloutnow.org</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> ; Pima County Resolution No. 2009-188, August 4,
2009, <a href="http://www.pima.gov/cob/e-agenda/">www.pima.gov/cob/e-agenda/</a> ‘ and Melanie Hicken, “Glendale Joins Lawsuit
against FCC,” <i>Glendale News Press</i>, September 30, 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn31">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref31" name="_edn31" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xxxi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> “<st1:placename w:st="on">First</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Town</st1:placetype>
Free of Electromagnetic Radiation Unanimously Approved in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn32">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref32" name="_edn32" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xxxii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Mats D</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">ämvik and Olle Johansson, “Gör upp arvet efter SSI”
(“Closure of the now-defunct Swedish Radiation Protection Authority”), <i>Boras Tidning</i>, March 18, 2009; <a href="http://www.bt.se/debatt/gor-upp-arvet-efter-sii(1216430).gm">http://www.bt.se/debatt/gor-upp-arvet-efter-sii(1216430).gm</a>
.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn33">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref33" name="_edn33" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xxxiii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Robert O. Becker, M.D., 2000. Quoted in B. Blake
Levitt and Theresa Morrow, “Electrosmog – What Price Convenience?” Paper
presented at “The Health/Environmental Effects of Cell Towers and Wireless
Technologies,” EMR Policy Institute and Citizens Concerned About Wireless
Technology, Sheffield MA, April 14, 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn34">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref34" name="_edn34" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xxxiv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> B. Blake
Levitt, “<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Cell-Phone</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Towers</st1:placetype></st1:place> and Communities,”
Orion Afield, Autumn 1988, pp. 32-36.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn35">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///E:/BLOG/luddite.com%2011.doc#_ednref35" name="_edn35" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[xxxv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> See B.
Blake Levitt, “<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Cell-Phone</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Towers</st1:placetype></st1:place> and Communities.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-20440355932310610132012-10-18T16:33:00.000-07:002012-11-13T16:00:34.286-08:00XII: whipped into wireless <br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Discombobulated
before the denial enveloping corporate-crammed consumerism of wireless
technologies, causing even health-food freaks and anti-nuclear activists to omit
memory of radiation and grasp for fancy phones and in-house electromagnetic
systems, I penned a heads-up for <i>Mind
Matters </i>in 2000.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G3U9487SNS0/UJcAY_-dhKI/AAAAAAAAADU/k4MeFm34eHw/s1600/telefono04%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G3U9487SNS0/UJcAY_-dhKI/AAAAAAAAADU/k4MeFm34eHw/s1600/telefono04%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Alexander Graham Bell
is my ancestor. My brother is named after him: Alexander Bell Glendinning. We
grew up hearing tell of that notorious moment in invention history -- March 6,
1876 -- when Bell set up his gadgetry and called out via electricity to his
assistant in the next room, "Watson! Come here!" <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">We were
then regaled with the tale of the lone inventor's tragedy: loss of rights over
his creation "for the good of humanity" and the banks accounts of the
already wealthy. It's true. Bell was corralled and quartered by zealous
American entrepreneurs and never even received a free phone card for what has
since become the most invisible and, at the same time, most invasive instrument
introduced into modern life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">You may be
surprised to hear that: the most invisible, the most invasive. Your surprise is
testimony to the degree to which the artifact, plus its massive supporting
technologies, has become part of us: our bodies, our homes, our workplaces, our
landscapes, our assumptions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Comparative
literature professor Avital Ronell wrote a book on the subject called <i>The Telephone Book</i>. Touted as a
political deconstruction of technology, the book penetrates our deaf acceptance
of telephony by exploring: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">1) how much the machinery defines
our every thought and act;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">2) how its existence furthers the
schizophrenia of mind/body and human/nature inherent to technological society;
and <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">3) how it lays the base for the
technology-constituted state. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Lending
our ears to the rock anthem "Meet The New Boss, Same As The Old
Boss," we are reminded that what has been invisible and invasive in the
past only becomes more invisible and more invasive in the present. Amid a
fanfare of glamour and fantasy, enter: the new telephone. Or better put: the
digital wireless phone-pilot-camera-entertainment-center. In other words, telecommunications with all its satellites,
microwave antennas, dishes, and towers and their electromagnetic emissions; its
supercomputers; machinery of propaganda; pyramid of CEOs, scientists, factory
managers, engineers, technicians, miners, truckers, factory workers, soldiers,
marketers, sales people, producers, directors, actors, artists, film crew,
chemical clean-up crew, secretaries, janitors; and ... its insect-chirping
phone. To understand this "new boss" we might ask the same questions
Ronell asked the "old.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">How does the new wireless technology define our every thought and act?</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">For
survival the human psyche is built to mirror its environs. We are made to think
and act in harmony with what surrounds us, and for 99 percent of our evolution,
what surrounded us was wilderness and nature-based community. We see this
mirroring in the fluid, non-ego-based personality of indigenous peoples and in
their worldviews that give shape to human possibility in terms of nature's
unfolding. In the technological world we find a parallel mirroring: mental
disorders from dissociation, anxiety, and narcissism to post-traumatic stress,
schizophrenia, and multiple personalities as disturbing reflections of an
environment erected beyond the realm of human scale and ecological
sustainability to the fragmented shape of cyber-mechanization. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
reflection is everywhere. Here's Jamie Lee Curtis popping a discrete wireless
out of her gown at a dinner party. Hers
is an artifact that encourages you to believe that at any time you can hook up
with anyone anywhere. And indeed you
can. Kind of. At least you can make a stock trade at Merrill Lynch headquarters
in New York from a rainforest in Brazil. The promise of such seemingly
limitless possibility, against the profundity of the fragmentation that
permeates our very thought and act in techno-corporate society, is seductive
indeed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The pain
that lies behind the seduction is driven deep into our shared unconscious. In
its place denial or, if you will, deafness appears. There is deafness to the
very connection and rootedness our psyches, and our ecologies, expect. There is
deafness to the lack of connection and rootedness we endure. There is deafness to the rampant social and
psychological problems that result. And there is deafness to the biological
effects of the technology. The truth is ear-splitting: you and I, along with the
other living beings on the planet, now exist inside a planetary microwave oven.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Studies
published by government, corporate, military, and independent researchers link
an array of illnesses with the electromagnetic frequencies that emanate from
both handsets and towers: immunological deficiencies, brain tumors, cancers,
high blood pressure, deterioration of the blood-brain barrier that protects
from bacteria and viruses, leukemia, heart disease, multiple sclerosis,
Alzheimer's, sleep disturbances, fatigue, miscarriage, infertility -- and deafness. Research also shows illness, infertility, and
death among farm animals, wildlife, and plants near microwave towers. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F4x61qza024/UJxLD4Ks1zI/AAAAAAAAAIo/-COs_9FI8_A/s1600/CellPhoneRadiationMan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F4x61qza024/UJxLD4Ks1zI/AAAAAAAAAIo/-COs_9FI8_A/s320/CellPhoneRadiationMan.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">Acceptance
of such an outrageous predicament comes down to banality: if you use a cell
phone, you think it's normal; if you think it's normal, you use it. Our every
thought and act are then defined by the mundaneness of wireless telephony --
while its inherent alienation, dreams of grandiosity, and biological effects
are refused. Instead of listening for the sources of this tragedy, we fashion
our dreams from the images on TV and revel in a corporate culture loud with a
violence that mirrors the apocalyptic terror we harbor deep down. Our
everywhere-nowhere telephones not only symbolize our disconnection; by their
existence they add to the possibility of our extinction.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">How do wireless communications further the mind/body, human/nature split?</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">If we
approach this question with anything close to the sharpness Avital Ronell
brings to her analysis of the pre-wireless telephone, we will note that the
fragmentation of consciousness created by the disembodied voice on the old
black box is only amplified by the cell phone. We no longer have conversations
with phantom voices merely in the TV room or at the office. This new experience
of non-visual, non-sensual, and non-located relationships leads us to a
heightened state of disembodiment. And a crucial question emerges: what might
this condition of chronic dissociation by preparing us for? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I got an
ear-full on the subject during a Public Radio International interview I shared
with Marvin Minsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology's inventor of
artificial intelligence. As he was expounding on the benefits of computers,
Minksy informed me that the final disconnect will be the removal of all life
from Earth and replacement of sentient beings by "thinking" machines,
genetically-engineered life forms, and nanotechnology. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Minsky is
himself a fine example of mind/body dissociation, and his vision for the future
is a fine mirroring of the separation of human from nature foisted upon us by
technological society. Flying down ten-lane freeways in our computer-guided
conveyances, plugged into devices spouting disembodied voices, asking our
hand-held pilots what the weather is may feel like power. But doing it, Minsky
seems to have dialed a schizoid area code. Doing it, you and I may hardly
notice that the terrain to the side of the freeway is torn to shreds by
earthmovers to provide the metals that construct the cell phone. Flying down the highway, with our minds so
removed from earthly knowledge and our lives so disconnected from our world, we
may not notice that the sky itself is splintered by the appearance of microwave
towers spewing non-ionizing radiation into our bones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">How does the telecommunications industry feed the postmodern political
process?</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">To answer
this question, it is essential to realize that the words we have been taught
for describing contemporary political and economic forms prevent us from
perceiving their nature. After World War II, when hundreds of decolonization
movements challenged the most predominant political form at that time, it
became awkward to continue using words which described it: the language of
imperialism. Sociology stepped in, and we got terms like "mass society,"
“urban development,” and "Third World.” But such titles speak only of
bigness, complexity, and separation, conveniently skipping over the power
relations inherent to both yesterday's classical imperialism and today's newer
form of hegemony, the corporate economy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In
describing our world, let us reclaim words of political power and add to them
the language of technological development.
Ronell does. Drawing links between politics and technology, she pins the
success of that renowned fascist state, Nazi Germany, on the telephone. In the
Third Reich the telephone was not a neutral device safely functioning in a
context of relativity. Its purpose was
the centralization of power, and in service to this goal it became a weapon, a
means of state surveillance, "an open accomplice to lies" clinching
the totalitarian control sought by the regime. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Others
have echoed the relationship between technology and political expansionism. In <i>The Tools Of Empire</i> social scientist
Daniel Headrick traces the give-and-take between 19<sup>th</sup>-century
European land accumulation and technologies such as iron boats, guns, underwater
cables, and railroads. In <i>The Fire of His
Genius</i> historian Kirkpatrick Sale shows how the steamboat brought the
industrial revolution to the United States, opened up the continent's interior
to settlement, and facilitated the aggression against indigenous peoples that
was necessary for complete take-over. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Telecommunications
technologies, likewise, serve the encroachment of a political and economic
system. Today's systems, though, are not limited by state ownership. They are
post-state, pan-corporate, and boundary-less. The unique offering of telecommunications
is that it gives its purveyors instantaneous contact to nearly every location
in the world. In a few years the microwave towers we are only now coming to
understand are slated to be replaced by corporate-sponsored satellite
technologies, and smaller antennas could be sited anywhere. Talk about
invisible and invasive. No place on this Earth will be immune from the
political-economic effects of globalization -- and the health and environmental
effects of electromagnetic radiation.
Corporations are pursuing this latest means of dissemination because,
for efficient functioning, they require instant co-ordination of their global
web of resource exploitation, goods and service distribution, and social
control. In the U.S. the platform for such operation is the Telecommunications
Act of 1996 which, echoing the legal structure of the World Trade Organization,
disallows local "market"-impeding regulations based on health or
environmental effects. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">As a
descendant of the inventor of the telephone, I am listening to these pained
echoes with a sharp ear, and I am saddened. The corporate rip-off of the telephone from Bell's hands is a rip-off
that persists. Due to the stranglehold corporations have on the media,
though, little is known about actions against the wireless industry in various
parts of the world. The news is that the movement is not in its infancy. In
2000 hundreds of scientists, researchers, doctors, technicians, elected
officials, and representatives from environmental, health, and civil rights
organizations met in Salzburg, Austria.
Hailing from New Zealand, China, Canada, Russia, Sweden, England, and
other countries, they founded the Global Electromagnetic Awareness and Safety
Alliance. (The city of Salzburg allows only emissions 100 times less potent
than those in the U.S.) Meanwhile, the United Nations World Health Organization
has formed the International Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection.
Conferences on the health effects of cell-phone transmitters have convened in
Belgium, Sweden, France, Italy, and England, and there have been numerous
petitions, manifestos, demonstrations, and acts of civil disobedience. In Spain
a judge acknowledged "the rights of citizens to a healthy environment free
of fields" and ordered corporate compensation to victims of
"electromagnetic trespass." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Hear tell:
it is time to integrate the struggle against the invasiveness of wireless
telecommunications into our anti-globalization work. The only way I know to
reclaim our thoughts and acts, heal the schizoid fragments perpetrated by
expansionist systems, and reconstitute lasting communities on this Earth is for
us to listen -- and be visible. (2000)<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2012.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div>
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<br />
<br />
<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">This blog is a book. Please feel free to read the next chapter now. Go to the Table of Contents under the introduction on the right side of the page and click on the next chapter.</span></i></b><br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2012.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Chellis
Glendinning, “Hear Tell: Invisibility, Invasiveness, and the Cell Phone,” <i>Wild Matters,</i> March 2002, pp. 1, 12-13.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-71811482276198954322012-10-17T14:38:00.000-07:002012-11-13T16:00:23.266-08:00XIII: no there there <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Words to help us
express, communicate, and survive are sparked and then sculpted, not over a telephone
connection -- but <i>in place</i>. By means of our senses interacting with the
world. Larry Emerson taught me
that. He’s a Diné social thinker and
medicine man from the Navajo Nation.
Everything in culture comes from a people’s participation with the
natural world, he says. <i>Everything</i>. Food.
Garments. Tools. Housing.
Transport. Songs. Dances.
Language. Ideas. Stories.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Even permission
to act. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Pt2lPEdY2tA/UJb-4txZS8I/AAAAAAAAADM/CkhU6oktD-Y/s1600/2291356_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Pt2lPEdY2tA/UJb-4txZS8I/AAAAAAAAADM/CkhU6oktD-Y/s1600/2291356_300.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: justify;">Larry Emerson</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">Larry
and I padded across the </span><i style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">arroyo</i><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;"> near
Tesuque Pueblo, checking out the land for an encampment for a group of Natives
and non-Natives who had been comparing notes on social ideas. Already we had met at such a meeting at
Fritjof Capra’s Elmwood Institute in Berkeley.
We plopped down onto the sand under a sprawling juniper, and for a long
moment he let his eyes brim into balls of glassy liquid, as if staring into
another realm. When he came back to me,
he announced that Grandmother Tree had extended an invitation to hold our
camp-out in this place. He told me too
that, like this revelation, each word in our vocabularies is a gift that
springs from the spirits of the land.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">One
wonders -- the harsh metallic presentation of mass society, the way it slices
through a people, cracks each psyche into disparate mirrors, blasts a
high-voltage power line through an encampment, smashes the Sacred Hoop. One wonders – but if the utterance of language
is sparked in place by the oh-so-delicate eye and ear and heart …. how will we
find words to communicate?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">No
wonder it is that my generation of Luddites could never corral a unified
vocabulary. Here was Jerry Mander with
his arrangement of political, psychological, and perceptual arguments against a
single technology. Langdon Winner
describing the collusion of government, academia, and corporations toward mass
dissemination of technology. Vandana
Shiva alerting the world to the health and political dangers of biotechnology
in the Third World. Susan Griffin’s
lyricism on the wrenching of woman from nature.
Gustavo Esteva’s refusal to acknowledge the concept of “work.” Many traveled to the industrial revolution to
garner words: I found my way to the Neolith; Kirkpatrick to the Paleolith. John Zerzan elaborated on the fracturing of
community by abstraction. Godfrey Reggio
proffered the language of film, juxtaposing pained images of mega-techno-cities
around the planet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">But, my
God! All that good work came before the
“new technologies” spewed their waves and particles -- without permission --
into every thought and act of every being, jammed concrete onto every clod of
soil, scrambled every molecule into global disarray. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nkD9mGNJlrQ/UJ2E_jojYwI/AAAAAAAAAI8/mW6c9swfiFY/s1600/expansi%25C3%25B3n-del-movil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nkD9mGNJlrQ/UJ2E_jojYwI/AAAAAAAAAI8/mW6c9swfiFY/s320/expansi%25C3%25B3n-del-movil.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">pluutackroks
brknbrknbreech furipmax immmmall cravecard scleritgun whipp suunami die getused</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">January
2008. The futurist inventor of
Artificial Intelligence spouts his ideas on the environmental program over
public radio. He insists that what makes
people human is our mastery of technology.
He pronounces that a New Human is coming, the ultimate merging of Man
and Machine: one capable of sharing any selected virtual reality with anyone
else at any time in any place, one with wireless nanotechnology imbedded into
the very cartography of his language.</span><a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2013.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[i]</span></span></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2013.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">World War II could
have been predicted: 85 percent of the Earth is already claimed and the forces
that do the claiming are already in collision. Computers are invented to
address the complexities of scale and distance endemic to such a global
undertaking. They are invented in the only way such a capital-heavy scheme can
be – through a consortium of legality, finance, and brains called government,
business, and academia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Poland’s
secret service manages to construct a replica of a primitive German apparatus
and smuggle it to Britain. The Enigma is an electromagnetic tele-printer that
scrambles messages into codes decipherable only by plug patterns, or programs,
inserted into the machine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The Z3 is
the first operational computer. It is built in 1941 and, based on the binary
system, is designed to solve engineering problems of missiles. The German
government pays for the work. In 1942 its inventor, Konrad Zuze, and his
associate Helmut Schreyer propose that they redesign the Z3 using vacuum tubes
instead of electromagnetic relay switches. Vacuum tubes facilitate the flow of
currents by electrical forces alone, using no moving parts, and so function
1000 times faster. The German government pulls the money: it is sure Germany
will win the war before the machine is finished.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Meanwhile,
British intelligence sequesters a group of researchers in a Victorian estate. Their
product, inspired by the Enigma, is a code-breaking computer with 2000 vacuum
tubes – coincidentally the same number Zuze and Schreyer propose for the device
they never build. This is the Colossos. Intercepted enemy messages are fed into
it as symbols punched onto a loop of tape.
The tape is fed into a photoelectric scanner that compares the ciphered
message with known Enigma codes. The machine processes 25,000 characters in a
second.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In
Endicott, New York, with the U.S. Navy’s blessing and the International
Business Machine Corporation’s money, a Harvard mathematician named Howard Aiken
builds the Mark I. The year is 1943. In this machine simple electromechanical
relays serve as on-off devices for the flow of electricity, and punched tape
supplies instructions for manipulating data. Unlike his contemporaries across
the ocean, Aiken does not grasp the advantage of the binary system which,
because it uses only two numbers, simplifies the switching of relays and so
quickens the flow of information. The Mark I’s data take the form of coded
decimal numbers zero to nine fed in on IBM punch cards. The Navy immediately
leases the machine to solve ballistics problems. In one day it can whip through
calculations that formerly took six months.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Meanwhile,
also in 1943, the U.S. Army unloads hundreds of thousands of dollars onto the
University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Engineering. The task: to build
the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, or ENIAC, to prepare
artillery firing tables for gunners in the field. The 30-ton result is
fearsomely complex, bearing no fewer than 17,000 vacuum tubes. Yet its
completion at World War II’s end means there is no more need for artillery
tables. Eighteen feet high, 80 feet long, 1000 times quicker than the Mark IU –
ENIAC is given a new job: to calculate the feasibility of hydrogen weapons for
the Cold War.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">There is no direction
inside a computer. Up down north south east west the sun rises the sun sets –
the directives humans have known and used for 3 million years of evolution are
gone, obliterated by the silicon chip. Stars burst forward like tiny messages
from outer space, fly toward us, then burn up in the blackness of proximity. The
silicon chip is built one layer at a time, a skyline city minuter than your
smallest fingernail. It controls your car engine. It researches the human
genetic map and, from outer space, determines the median income of your
neighborhood and the precise location of terrorist encampments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Radar. Thermal
sensing. Digital lenses. The chip is shooting billions of data through its
circuits, arranging them according to predetermined categories. Air quality.
Ocean depth. Ocean dumping. Interstate
travel. Arctic melt. Desertification.
Deforestation. Nuclear tests. Animal migrations. The march of environmental refugees from one
toxic place to another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Everywhere
there is no there. No up. No down. Where inside a computer do the Christmas
mailing lists come from? How does a CD player pick out the song you request? How
do you fix a broken circuit board? Where is cyberspace? The lives of the people
whose direction is mapped by computer are severed into digital infinity, everywhere
and nowhere at once, the ultimate dream of the imperial mind. “There Will Be a
Road,” chants the MCI ad. “It Will Not
Connect Two Points. It Will Connect All Points….It Will Not Go from Here to There.
There Will Be No There, There.”<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2013.doc#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
(1999)<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2013.doc#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Yes, you think you
cannot live without your BlackBerry. You
think you need your BlackBerry. You
think you <i>are</i> your BlackBerry. It rests at your hip. It purrs and you feel it vibrate across your
thigh. You take it out of its cute
tartan-plaid case, hold it -- and your hand becomes it, it becomes your ear,
your nerves melt into the anxious words of the person who is 2000 miles
away. You speak loudly even though you
are sitting alone in the café; other people who are alone are also roaring and
gesticulating seemingly to no one. Like
crazy people. <i>Oh.</i> A muffled thud jerks the
air. It jars your bones. A man has just fallen, or jumped, from the
skyscraper across the avenue. You stand
up and aim your Blackberry at the spectacle of his lifeless body on the
sidewalk, then thumb the photo to your top 100 list. Twenty-three reply in text. How weird, they say. How bizarre.
One provides details of that building’s history of suicide, another
sends a photo of a person who has leapt from a bridge, another a radio
interview about a new fabric made of cattails, a third an adorable shot of a
penguin on a melting ice floe that was taken that morning at the South
Pole. Download that shot to your
computer at home, you tell your BlackBerry.
And while you’re at it, you send a command to your hybrid to unlock the
driver’s side door so you can jump in without being delayed by the police line
forming on the avenue. You click your
BlackBerry to pay for your BGH-flavored Java.
You scurry away like a machine, eyes aimed inward, head slanted down
toward the voice clacking at you. You
clutch at nothingness and do not breathe.
You are pushing through an atmosphere thick with electronic disaster and
distraction, zinging with pictures of penguins and men dropping like dead
maggots.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">This blog is a book. Please feel free to read the next chapter now. Go to the Table of Contents under the introduction on the right side of the page and click on the next chapter.</span></i></b><br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2013.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Ray
Kurzwel on “Living on Earth” with Steve Curwood. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Washington</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">DC</st1:state></st1:place>:
National Public Radio, Week of January
11, 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2013.doc#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Print
advertisement for MCI, 1996.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2013.doc#_ednref3" name="_edn3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Adapted
from Chellis Glendinning<i>, Off the Map (An
Expedition Deep into Imperialism, the Global Economy and Other Earthly
Whereabouts). </i><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city>:
Shambhala Publications, 1999, pp. 87-100; and <i>Off the Map: An Expedition Deep into Empire and the Global Economy</i>.
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Gabriola</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Island</st1:placetype></st1:place>: New Society Publishers, 2003,
pp. 95-102.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-23439674582233929992012-10-16T09:39:00.000-07:002012-11-13T16:01:05.670-08:00XIV: dead zero <br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Dead Zero is a
village in northern New Mexico that means as much to the corporate economy as
Grenada meant to geopolitics. Yet in
Chimayó, amid chile fields and weavers’ looms, we reside in the eye of
technological globalization. The expanded
freeway -- with its spanking-new casino resorts, golf courses, and gas stations
-- has long since arrived. Then came the
telecommunications plot to erect 11 microwave towers, one atop the roof of each
of the schools in the district, just feet from the brain cells of the
children. The village pulled together to
beat that one -- but a year later T-Mobile threw a tower up during the dark of
night in the heart of the village’s historic plaza. Just then we learned that the open lands to
the north of the village, under the long-time care of the Bureau of Land
Management, would soon be a 60,000-acre
international “Fun Park” for ATV rampaging.
And now Windstream is bringing fiber optic to pipe WiMAX into every poor
adobe home and trailer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> “Those who are in the grip of this myth
imagine that with an increasing budget for scientific R&D” -- Lewis
Mumford’s 1962 prophesy was dead-on -- “with a more voluminous productivity,
augmented by almost omniscient computers and a wider range of antibiotics and
inoculations, with a greater control over our genetic inheritance, with more
complex surgical operations and transplants, with an extension of automation to
every form of human activity, mankind will achieve –- what?”<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2014.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Dead
Zero is Everywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">everwhereploototproosteroockxbrookkbrantoumwhaalzzzfifuuurrwhhi<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Yes, the
front has lengthened, almost to infinity.
In 1988 scientists warned that humanity had just ten years before the
ecological devastation caused by harmful technologies would be so advanced the
planet would not be able to recuperate.<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2014.doc#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> 1997 came and went. No one, it seems, had the courage to mention
that the time frame had elapsed. In 2006
Al Gore, backed by the research of NASA climatologist James Hansen, said it
again: we have ten years before it will be too late.<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2014.doc#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2014.doc#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></a></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2014.doc#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt;">One of the last
meetings of the Jacques Ellul Society took place in 1994 at Dartington Hall,
not far from the heartland where the original Luddites had launched their
resistance in England. Thanks to the
Foundation for Deep Ecology, our largest group yet was regaled with an elegant,
wood-paneled meeting hall and proper English tea twice a day. But the conversation was not as delightful as
the setting, threaded as it was with our growing understanding of the
mechanisms of the global corporate economy and its relationship to the “new
technologies” that were taking over. </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Andrew
Kimbrell got a bee under his technology-criticism bonnet coming out of that
session. He wanted to publish a
magazine, and sure enough <i>Techné</i>, a
beautiful rag showcasing analysis, commentary, and poetry, made its fleeting
passage across the literary sky – just the one issue -- only to crash just as
we as a group were destined to do. The
very last gathering took place in a bed-and-breakfast in Washington, D.C. in
1996.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">By the
mid-2000’s, who among us could overlook that the brilliance of our collective
mind had faded before the apparently <i>more</i>
brilliant light behind the computer screen?
Or that many of us had not even communicated <i>in ten</i> <i>years</i>? I began to feel antsy about the demise of our
anti-tech camaraderie and its political potential. I also sensed that, even worse, the rubrics
of our analysis -- so clearly in lineage with what the Luddites had begun in
the early 1800’s -- had drifted like a wisp of cotton candy into a firmament
now over-crammed by the electromagnetic emissions of wireless technologies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I call
Stephanie and Kirkpatrick. Stephanie is
living on her ten-acre woodland in northern Michigan, working on an homage to
fellow small-is-beautiful activist Robert Swann (published in 2010 as <i>On Gandhi’s Path)</i> -- and she is consumed
with the coming collapse of nature and civilization. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Why did
the Jacques Ellul Society disband? I ask.
Steph harbors a sense that the group petered out because the funding
petered out. The benefactor of the
effort had pulled his support so he could purchase tracts of pristine land in
Chile, and therefore have a direct impact on the survival of the planet. “I think intellectual conclaves are worth
doing if only to gather and tone up the widely-scattered intellectuals
involved,” she says. “But those are
expensive activities. And we were fortunate to have been
participants. Now we have to maintain that perspective in our several
settings, along with doing the homely work of surviving at the margins.”<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2014.doc#_edn4" name="_ednref4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">My take
is that when the “new technologies” came on, they reconfigured the patterns of
connectivity. Communities that had made their way via land line, letters,
and meetings disintegrated. Folks like us modern-day Luddites were
confused, left behind. Or we were left striving, against the grain, to
catch up. Or we fell into new groupings connected by new means. Or
we simply became isolated in a world of near-total technology encasement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Kirk has
yet another angle. He had gone<i> </i>on from his media-catching<i> Rebels against the Future</i> to write a
history drawing linkages between the development of steam engines and the
building of the American empire, and in terms of the marketplace, it had
bombed. His epiphany was to skip over
the technology issue that might push geeks and computer advocates away from
activism, particularly those from the up-and-coming generations who know
nothing <i>but</i> the digital world. From his home in Cold Spring, New York, and
later in South Carolina, he now focuses on the politics of secession from the
U.S.A. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Kirk
tells me that the computer chip has “swept over the social and economic worlds
with a tsunamic power within a decade, breezed past Y2K, and penetrated every
profession, every setting, every means of communication, every transaction,”
becoming essentially … inescapable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“How
could any critique of technology overcome that?” he continues at a low-level
burn. “What sense did it make to go on
saying that there will be ugly consequences, that there are terrible downsides?
Even if anyone wanted to believe it -- and I think many did, or as the <em>New Yorker</em> said,
‘there’s a little bit of the Unabomber in all of us’ — no one, individually or
collectively, had the power to stop the technological onslaught. It was
the way of life chosen by the economic and governmental powers-that-be, with
all the money and all the laws, and it could not be stopped.”<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"> <a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2014.doc#_edn5" name="_ednref5" title=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I
propose that the inevitable internal dynamics of our specific group might have
contributed to its demise as well. I use the word “inevitable” because
empire sets up a class system: some have access to resources more than others;
some have more utilitarian knowledge than others; some, more money.
In the Jacques Ellul Society this dynamic played out as a gap between a clique
that made the behind-the-scenes decisions -- and the others who came to the
gatherings to learn and share. Too, a few were working the scene to raise
funds for their own projects, which to my mind was disruptive. And
since we hadn’t laid out an ethic of respect, gossiping and back-stabbing
happened.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Kirk’s
response is quick and fierce.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“I doubt
gossiping and back-stabbing brought us down!” he quips. “The truth is … we <i>LOST</i>!!
The other side <em>WON.</em>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">He is
right, of course. We lost. Touted, even among environmentalists and
progressive governments, as the new “green” energy, nuclear power is making a
come-back – and with it, nuclear weapons.
The U.S. President who ran a campaign on a Peace-in-Iraq platform merely
redirects the U.S. military toward Afghanistan, and small countries are hot on
the trail to develop nuclear capability.
Meanwhile, genetically-engineered species have infiltrated even the most
remote corn fields in the highlands of Oaxaca, where corn is sacred. Save a few stretches of Third World terrain
in the most down-and-out countries, the world’s
military-cum-telecommunications-industry has paved the planet with layer upon
layer of microwave emissions -- and stands on the verge of placing a Blackberry
in the hands of every human being. Concomitant
to that reality, state surveillance has accomplished an in-reach so complete
that hardly a conversation by anyone on the planet is not being
documented. Truly, the “new
technologies” that sat on the horizon of our 1970’s-‘90’s Luddite-inspired visions
are now fully and completely woven into the New World Order. “Textual mind” has taken over -- and
“techno-fascism” has morphed into the accepted norm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<br />
<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">This blog is a book. Please feel free to read the next chapter now. Go to the Table of Contents under the introduction on the right side of the page and click on the next chapter.</span></i></b><br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2014.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Lewis
Mumford, “Prologue to Our Time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2014.doc#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> James
Hansen, Testimony. <st1:city w:st="on">Washington</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">DC</st1:state>:
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>
Senate Hearing on Global Climate Change,
June 23, 1988<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2014.doc#_ednref3" name="_edn3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> James
Hansen, “Global Warming: Is There Time to Avoid Disastrous Human-made Climate
Change?” Lecture at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">National</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Academy</st1:placetype></st1:place> of Sciences,
April 23, 2006; and Al Gore in <i>An
Inconvenient Truth.</i> <st1:city w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:city>: <st1:place w:st="on">Paramount</st1:place> Classics and Participant Productions, 2006.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn4">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2014.doc#_ednref4" name="_edn4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Chellis
Glendinning, Stephanie Mills, and Kirkpatrick Sale, “Three Luddites Talking….
On a Computer!” <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/">www.counterpunch.org</a>,
May 29-31, 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2014.doc#_ednref5" name="_edn5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Chellis
Glendinning, Stephanie Mills, and Kirkpatrick Sale, “Three Luddites.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-50024388993750872502012-10-15T10:57:00.000-07:002012-11-13T16:01:36.889-08:00XV: technology and democracy <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">S</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">urveillance of
private calls and emails. Cameras documenting every move. No habeas
corpus. Unimpeded entry into personal financial records. Voting
machines changing election outcomes with the flick of a switch. Protest
defined as terrorism. Many people hope that the loss of civil rights Americans
have endured since the onslaughts mounted by Bush Administration II is a
political reality that can be reversed through electoral will. Established mechanisms of political power are,
of course, the immediately available means for attempting change. Notions
of citizens’ rights, freedom, and democratic participation are
compelling paradigms that have consistently stirred the bravery of U.S.
citizens – and yet elder political scientist Sheldon Wolin, who taught the
philosophy of democracy for five decades, sees the current predicament of
corporate-government hegemony as something more endemic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Inverted
totalitarianism,” as he calls it in his recent <em>Democracy Incorporated</em>, “lies in wielding
total power without appearing to, without establishing concentration
camps, or enforcing ideological uniformity, or forcibly suppressing
dissident elements so long as they remain ineffectual.” To Wolin, such a form
of political power makes the United States “the showcase of how democracy can
be managed without appearing to be suppressed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Wolin rightfully
points out that the origins of U.S. governance were “born with a bias against
democracy,” and yet the system has quickly lunged beyond its less-than-democratic
agrarian roots to become a mass urban society that, with distinct <em>1984</em> flavorings, could
be called techno-fascism. The role of technology is the overlooked piece
of the puzzle of the contemporary political conundrum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">But what are its
mechanisms of control?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The use of
telecommunications technologies for surveillance is obvious. So are willful
alteration of computer data for public reportage, manipulation of
television news for opinion-shaping, and use of microwave-emitting weapons for
crowd control. Less obvious are what could be called “inverted mechanization”
whereby citizens blindly accept the march of technological development as an
expression of a very inexact, some would say erroneous, concept of
“progress.” One mechanism propagating such blindness is the U.S. government’s
invisible role as regulatory handmaiden to industry, offering little-to-no
means for citizen determination of what technologies are disseminated; instead
we get whatever G.M.O.’s and nuclear plants corporations dish out. A glaring
example is the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that, seeking to not repeat
the “errors” of the nuclear industry, offers zero public input as to
health or environmental impacts of its antennae, towers, and
satellites – the result being that the public has not a clue about the very
real biological effects of electromagnetic radiation. Inverted
mechanization is thrust forward as well by unequal access to resources:
corporations lavishly crafting public opinion and mounting limitless
legal defenses versus citizen groups who may be dying from exposure to a
dangerous technology but whose funds trickle in from bake sales. In his <em>Autonomous Technology:
Technics-Out-Of-Control as a</em> <em>Theme
in Political Thought</em>, political scientist Langdon Winner
points out that, to boot, the artifacts themselves have grown to such
magnitude and complexity that they define popular conception of
necessity. Witness the “need” to get to distant locales in a few hours or
enjoy instantaneous communication.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Even less obvious a
mechanism of public control is the technological inversion that results from
the fact that, as filmmaker Godfrey Reggio puts it, “We don’t use
technology, we <em>live </em>it.” Like
fish in water we cannot consider modern artifacts as separate from ourselves
and so cannot admit that they exist.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DqKps-54PvA/UJrlNAa0tjI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/zl6XWkenEmw/s1600/book.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DqKps-54PvA/UJrlNAa0tjI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/zl6XWkenEmw/s320/book.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Social critic Lewis
Mumford was among the first to make sense of the systemic nature of technology.
In <em>The Pentagon of Power</em>,
he identified the underlying metaphor of mass civilizations as the Megamachine. The
assembly line -- of factory, home, education, agriculture,
medicine, consumerism, entertainment. The machine -- centralizing
decision-making and control. The mechanical – fragmenting every act until
its relationship to the whole is lost; insisting upon the pre-determined role
of each region, each community, each individual. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">Mumford deftly peels
away false hope from a social reality based on principles of
centralization, control, and efficiency. In 1962 he peered into the
future and saw the pentagon of power incarnate: “a more voluminous
productivity, augmented by almost omniscient computers and a wider range
of antibiotics and inoculations, with a greater control over our genetic
inheritance, with more complex surgical operations and transplants, with
an extension of automation to every form of human activity.”</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Inverted
totalitarianism is both inverted and totalitarian<em> because</em> of the power of modern mass
technological systems to shape and control social realities, just as they shape
and control individual understandings of those realities. Its contemporary
existence is most definitely the result of the efforts of a group of right-wing
fundamentalists who hurled themselves into power through devious means -- but
today’s desperate social inequities, dire ecological predicament, and fascist
politic are the offspring of long-evolving technological centralization and
control as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The challenge is to
see the whole and all its parts, not just the shiny new device that
purports to make one’s individual life easier or sexier -- which in itself is a
contributor to the making of political disengagement. The whole is a
Megamachine, with you and your liquid TV, Blackberry, and Prius a
necessary cog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
</div>
<div style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Forging a survivable
world is indeed going to take a change of administration -- for starters. The
terrifying reality that is mass technological society suggests
more: radical techno-socio-economic re-organization, and to that end
spring visions informed by the indigenous worlds we all hail from, the
regionalism of Mumford’s day, and today’s bioregionalism. Or visions of
the forced localization that Peak Oil, economic collapse, climate
change, and ecological devastation propose. (2008)<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2015.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In the face of it
all, I waver between a Get-Your-Heart/Community-Garden-in-Order stab at
preparation and a sensibility more akin to <i>H<em>asta-La-Victoria</em></i>-S<em>iempre</em>. So long as
there is oppression, I posit while praying to the deities and poking chile
seeds into the soil, there is<i> resistance</i>. So long as there is mass technology
organizing life for efficiency and aggrandizement, there are people who favor
decent values. Humans harbor a deeply embedded knowing when things are
wrong – and a deeply burning fire to set them right. The sentiment of Appalachian folksinger Jack
Herranen rings right:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> And if your world don’t fall soon, then
we’ll help to tear it down …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> If your world don’t fall soon, then
we’ll help to tear it down.<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2015.doc#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Such
thinking brings me back to the Luddites.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x37HrQ58DIU/UJb38cnz14I/AAAAAAAAAC8/s3i_LJSuQWQ/s1600/luddites_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x37HrQ58DIU/UJb38cnz14I/AAAAAAAAAC8/s3i_LJSuQWQ/s400/luddites_2.jpg" width="261" /></a></div>
<div>
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<br />
<br />
<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">This blog is a book. Please feel free to read the next chapter now. Go to the Table of Contents under the introduction on the right side of the page and click on the next chapter.</span></i></b><br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2015.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Chellis
Glendinning, “Every Move You Make,” <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/">www.counterpunch.org</a>,
June 19, 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2015.doc#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> By permission from Jack Herranen, from <i>Runa Blues</i> by Kumana. Spring 2011. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-76613104818904887402012-10-14T14:59:00.000-07:002012-11-13T16:02:20.470-08:00XVI: the cropper lads for me! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4u2fp7TYhFw/UJb1Gd3JmQI/AAAAAAAAACs/XdajWga5_MI/s1600/1326724432luddite-h500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4u2fp7TYhFw/UJb1Gd3JmQI/AAAAAAAAACs/XdajWga5_MI/s1600/1326724432luddite-h500.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The Luddites were
the first brave souls of the Western world to identify technology’s role in
building mass society. According to
their analysis empire, capitalism, and technological development are
intertwined. The textile mills that
disrupted the weavers’ villages could never have been funded by using the
limited resources on the isle of England proper; more capital than could be
locally mustered was required.
Industrial development was rather bankrolled by the riches grabbed from
the far reaches of the empire, specifically from India and China. The means to control such faraway locales was
fueled by the hubris of “free trade,” whereby the “rights” of companies to
pursue global transactions were legitimized by complexly-written legalistic
proclamations, and protected by technologies of military might. The situation today is mightily similar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">And so,
we ask, might the Luddites be guides for us today?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The view
originally formulated by British reformist historians is that the Luddites were
irrational crazies who stood in the way of all that was useful. And inevitable. A less biased look into historical fact
informs us that the Luddites were savvy thinkers about the incursion of capital
and technology into their communities.
When they first saw the scale and meaning of what was being perpetrated,
they employed normal means to object.
Meetings. Discussions. Letters.
Public posts. But, as we saw in
2003 when President George W. Bush flipped off more than 12 million anti-war
protestors in more than 60 countries, “emperors” have a propensity to ignore
that which unveils their lack of “clothes.”
It was within such a context of desperation that the Luddites took to
their acts of protest against the physical means of perpetrating the new
order. It was within such a context that
they stealthily attired themselves in darkened masks and slipped into the night
to destroy what was destroying them.
They did their work deftly and in numbers; so successfully that, at the
height of the rebellion, Britain “invaded middle England” -- an area the size
of Delaware -- with as many as 14,400 soldiers.<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">To the
enclosure of the common more than to any other cause may be traced all the
changes which have subsequently passed over the village. It was like knocking the keystone out of an
arch. The keystone is not the arch; but,
once it is gone, all sorts of forces, previously resisted, begin to operate
towards ruin, and gradually the whole
structure crumbles down ... The enclosure … left the people helpless against
influences which have sapped away their interests, robbed them of security and
peace, rendered their knowledge and
skill of small value, and seriously affected their personal pride and their character
… When the cottager was cut off from his resources ... there was little else
that he could do in the old ways.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> --George Sturt, <i>Change in the Village</i>, 1912<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I have
been led into reasonings which make me hate more and more the existing
establishment …. Have beheld scenes of misery …. (The workers) are reduced to
starvation. My friend, the military are
gone to Nott’m – Curses light on them for their motives if they destroy one of
its famine wasted inhabitants …. The groans of the wretched may pass unheeded
till the latest moment of this infamous revelry (of the rich), till the storm
burst upon them and the oppressed take furious vengeance on oppressors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> --Percy Shelley<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">And
night by night when all is still<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">And the
moon is hid behind the hill,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">We
forward march to do our will<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> With hatchet, pike, and gun!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Oh, the
cropper lads for me,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
gallant lads for me,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Who with
lusty stroke<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
shear frames broke,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
cropper lads for me!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> --Song<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_edn4" name="_ednref4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_edn4" name="_ednref4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></a></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_edn4" name="_ednref4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0cm;">When I was reciting
my spiel as the modern-day technology critic in </span><i style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0cm;">Interview</i><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span><i style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0cm;">with a Luddite, </i><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0cm;">I
had an on-stage awakening. I was faced
with the task of explaining to a 19</span><sup style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; text-indent: 0cm;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0cm;">-century weaver what kinds of
technologies had befallen humanity in the ensuing centuries –- </span><i style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0cm;">in language he could understand</i><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua', serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0cm;">. Not “telephone,” mind you -- but “box that
echoes into your ear the voice of a person who is somewhere else.” Not “nuclear weapon” -- but “gunshot that is
catapulted from a flying wagon and can blow up all of Lancashire, yes,
including the surrounding farmlands and forests.” Since we had not prepared for this glitch in
language, I will tell you that I hemmed and hawed, grappled, even choked. I suppose my flailing appeared to the
audience like “acting.” It was real.</span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">We are up against a
similar impossibility of translation but one that flies, across time, in the
opposite direction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">At that
second-to-last gathering of the Jacques Ellul Society at Dartington Hall, a
committee met to expand upon the ideas for technology assessment that Hazel
Henderson and Wendell Berry had previously etched out. Henderson had asked questions about the
motives behind the origins of specific technologies and whether they promote
dependency or self-reliance.<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_edn5" name="_ednref5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Berry’s questions sprang from his concern for
a technology’s relevance to community, culture, and bioregion.<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_edn6" name="_ednref6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> The questions we invented went the next step
-- providing what we hoped would be useful linguistic-conceptual chinks in the
knee-jerk armor so many don for whatever new systems corporations and
government thrust upon them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .1pt;">Ecological Questions<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">What
are (the technology-in-question’s) effects on the planet?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Does
it preserve or destroy biodiversity?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Does
it preserve or reduce ecosystem integrity?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">How
much and what kind of waste does it generate?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Does
it break the bond of renewal between humans and nature?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .1pt;">Social Questions<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Does
(the technology-in-question) serve community?</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .1pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">How
does it affect our perception of our needs?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Is
it consistent with the creation of communal human economy? What are its effects on relationships?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Does
it undermine traditional forms of community?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Does
it erase a sense of time and history?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">What
is its potential to become addictive?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .1pt;">Practical Questions<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">What
does it make?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Whom
does it benefit?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Where
was it produced?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Where
is it used?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Where
must it go when it's broken or obsolete?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Can it be repaired by
an ordinary person?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Military Questions<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Does it undermine
traditional moral authority? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Does it require
military defense?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Does
it enhance military purposes?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Does
it foster mass behavior?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Aesthetic Questions<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Is
(the technology) ugly?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Does
it cause ugliness?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">What
noise does it make?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">What pace does it
set?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .2pt;">Moral Questions</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">What
values does its use foster?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">What
is gained by its use?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">What
are its effects on the least powerful person in the society?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .2pt;">Ethical Questions<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">What
does it allow us to ignore?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">To
what extent does it distance agent from effect?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">What
behavior might it make possible in the future?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">What
other technologies might it make possible?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Is
it conducive to nihilism? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .2pt;">Vocational Questions<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">What
is its impact on craft?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Does
it reduce, deaden, or enhance human creativity?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Does
it depress or enhance the quality of goods?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Does
it depress or enhance the meaning of work?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .2pt;">Metaphysical Questions<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">What
aspect of the inner self does (this technology) reflect? Love? Fear? Rage? Cyclical
or linear thinking?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .2pt;">Political Questions<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Does
it require a knowledge-elite?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.3pt;">Does
it require bureaucracy for its perpetuation?</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">What
legal empowerments does it need? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">Does
it concentrate or equalize power?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;">(1997)
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_edn7" name="_ednref7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"><a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_edn7" name="_ednref7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><br /></span></span></span></a></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"><a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_edn7" name="_ednref7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><br /></span></span></span></a></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"><a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_edn7" name="_ednref7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><br /></span></span></span></a></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"><a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_edn7" name="_ednref7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; text-align: start;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">This blog is a book. Please feel free to read the next chapter now. Go to the Table of Contents under the introduction on the right side of the page and click on the next chapter.</span></i></b></span></span></span></a></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"><a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_edn7" name="_ednref7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; text-align: start;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></i></b></span></span></span></a></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"><a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_edn7" name="_ednref7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; text-align: start;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></i></b></span></span></span></a></span></div>
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</div>
<div>
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Cited in
Kirkpatrick Sale, <i>Rebels Against the
Future.</i> Reading MA: Addison-Wesley, 1995, p. 148; from letters to the
British Home Office, whose job was to document unrest, by magistrates, elected
officials, and military officers. 42/123; F.O. Darvall, <i>Popular Disturbances and Public Order in Regency <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region></st1:place></i>. <st1:city w:st="on">Oxford</st1:city>:
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Oxford</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> Press, 1934. Reprint: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place>: Kelley, 1969,
pp.100-103, 26off.; Derek Gregory, <i>Regional</i>
<i>Transformation and the Industrial
Revolution</i>. <st1:city w:st="on">Minneapolis</st1:city>: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Minneapolis</st1:placename></st1:place>
Press, 1982, pp. 167-68; E. P. Thompson, <i>The
Making of the English Working Class</i>. <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New
York</st1:place></st1:state>: Victor Gollancz, 1963. Reprint: Harmondsworth:
Penguin Books, Pelican Edition, 1982, p. 615.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> George
Sturt, <i>Change in the Village</i>. <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>, G.H. Doran,
1912, p. 77ff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_ednref3" name="_edn3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Quoted in
Richard Holmes, <i>Shelley: The Pursuit. </i><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>: Weidenfeld, 1974,
p. 98.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn4">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_ednref4" name="_edn4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Quoted in
Frank Peel, <i>The Risings of the Luddites,
Chartists and Plug-drawers</i>. 1888. Reprint: <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>: Frank Cass, 1968, pp. 47-48.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn5">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_ednref5" name="_edn5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Hazel
Henderson in<i> Technological Forecasting
and Social Change</i>, Vol. 12, 1978, pp.317-324.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn6">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_ednref6" name="_edn6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Wendell
Berry, <i>Another Turn of the Crank</i>. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Washington</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">DC</st1:state></st1:place>:
Counterpoint Press, 1995.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn7">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2016.doc#_ednref7" name="_edn7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Adapted
from “78 Questions” in Stephanie Mills, ed., <i>Turning Away from Technology</i>. <st1:city w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:city>:
Sierra Club Books, 1997, pp.235-37; and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Gabriola</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Island</st1:placetype></st1:place>:
New Society Publishers/New Catalyst Books, 2008, pp. 235-37.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-27306583327889575602012-10-13T10:22:00.000-07:002012-11-11T11:18:02.017-08:00XVII: the feast of life <br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Throughout his life
Lewis Mumford grappled with the conundrum of what to do about the relentless
march of technological destruction.
Immediately after the first atomic bombs were used in 1945, he proposed:
“If we cannot control ourselves sufficiently to create a harmonious world
order, then we shall have to destroy our machines.”<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2017.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> In 1970, after laying out his starkest
premonitions for the future in <i>The
Pentagon of Power, </i>he turned from hope in government policy to a call for
citizen response – pointing to civil disobedience as the worthy response to the
“murderous confrontations and infantile tantrums” of the “megatechnical
wasteland.” Rather than the seizing of
political power that revolution would attempt -- which after the glory days of
the decolonization movements was clearly riddled with the inherent problems of
power -- Mumford advised withdrawal by “breaking routines and defying
regulations.”<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2017.doc#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">For us today,
living as we do in the eye of Mumford’s worst prophetic vision, the thorniest
question of all now rears its Gorgon head.
The <i>form</i> of civil
disobedience. If the technological
system as a whole is murderous, what might the responsible cadre of citizens do
about it? As Stephanie Mills asks, “<span style="letter-spacing: .3pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Where's the Achilles
heel? Where do we, as Gary Snyder puts
it, ‘shoot the arrow to hit the heart of the growth monster’?”<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2017.doc#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.3pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .3pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Do we storm the factories? Or organize them? Charge the malls? Or stop shopping in them? Do we tear the offenders down? Blow them up?
Or vote? Push for legislation? Influence elected officials? Nominate a candidate? Pass ordinances to keep out
corporations? Tweak the media? Refuse the military? Stop paying taxes? Secede from the nation-state? Should we stop traffic? Drive a vegetable car? Get a horse?
Throw away a computer? Or sue for
damages? Use interstate commerce
laws? Appeal to the United Nations? Or God?
Ply acts of kindness? Go into
recovery? Do we raise chickens? Plant a garden? Brain-tan the hide of roadkill? Break into historical museums and grab up
antique technologies? Store food
underground? Release caged critters from
industrial farms? Become a vegan? Talk on the radio? Shoot a video for YouTube? Start a blog?
Take down a blog? Do we draw a
gun? Withdraw our services? Wait?
Do we start a revolution? Or
perpetrate devolution?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The question of
violence is embedded in any exploration of tactics. One does tend to encounter the imprint of
violence along the same perceptual synapse where one finds the Luddite rebellion. At least that is the way the Luddites have
been reported through history. Yet it
was those original villagers in England who were <i>themselves</i> beset by violence –- and to add to the confusion of
generations to come, it was a violence that was depicted by its perpetrators as
normalcy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Enclosure was the
act of seizing the traditional common lands that had supported the villages’
sustainability; it was the method used by the state, corporations, and
individuals deemed “deserving” to claim ownership of these lands. Between 1770 and 1830, Parliament passed
3,280 bills transferring 6 million acres of meadows, fields, wetlands, and
forests away from communities into the hands of capitalists. While such acts were questionable enough,
even more shaky arrangements were made outside of government -- another 6
million acres were seized under the table –- until more than half the farmland
in England was no longer growing food for people’s daily tables, but rather was
being developed for capital profit-taking or the enjoyment of capitalists.<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2017.doc#_edn4" name="_ednref4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Pure and simple: it
was a Land Grab.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Then came the
factories. Imagine: by 1814 those same
rural villages were overrun by six-story plants belching black smoke where
clean air had once blown, dumping dye into the rivers where boys had fished,
demanding the labor of men, women, and children who before had gardened and
hunted and woven their own livelihoods.<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2017.doc#_edn5" name="_ednref5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">This</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> is
violence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I will tell you my
gut reaction when people stand up for themselves -- when a handful of Native
communities in Mexico rampages into history on the first day of the North
American Free Trade Agreement, when Israeli citizens break into a
telecommunications company’s penthouse to rip apart its roof-top antennas, when
Vietnamese villagers ransack a mining site to destroy the machines that will
contaminate their water.<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2017.doc#_edn6" name="_ednref6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> At risk of being branded “reckless” or
“naive”<i> </i>by those who have not taken
the time, or applied the intelligence, to weigh the vagaries of the
Megatechnical impact: <i>I let out a whoop
of glee!</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">This is not a whoop
that champions such actions as political strategies per se. Maybe, in their contexts, they are relevant
strategies; maybe they are acts of recklessness. Questions of means and success are the
thorniest yet; despite all the earnest thinking mounted to address them, they
reside embedded in a sad history wherein some strategies have elbowed some
success, some have proven disastrous -- and few have succeeded at toppling the
basic underlying structures of injustice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">No. My whoop bursts straightaway from the
psyche’s depths. The Zapatistas standing
their ground in the <i>selva</i>! <i>Indígenas</i>
standing up to Bechtel … and winning! A
lone man halting a tank in Tiananmen Square!
Twelve million marching against war!
My whoop is a howl of celebration -- for the glory of courage, for a
love so potent it cannot be held back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Too, this same
blossom of courage and love is the quality we might now garner from those
lively heroes who rose up against the first inklings of what was destined to
befall us all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The tasks before us
are many; they demand an appreciation of their complexity, enormity,
interrelatedness -- and the strength of the talents among us that arise to
address them. Look. Whether you judge the current predicament by
peak oil, global heat, climate upheaval, plant extinctions, economic collapse,
microwave pollution, social desperation, or conscious restructuring – no matter
what language you muster to describe the predicament -- the demise of mass
technological empire is afoot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">We do not know how
things will unfold. Predictions foretell
of worlds beset by nature’s revenge, tsunamis of chaos, and Dust-Bowl
desperation -- as well as of worlds thrust forward by community cohesion and
shared endeavor toward a better world.
Just as with our erstwhile society of technology critics, we have some
words to speak of what might take place and what we might do … but, in the end,
no one can know. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Still, despite the
uncertainty, we are alive. And what fear
quakes in our bones? What grief? What desperation? What passion for survival?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Each of us knows
something crucial about our plight in these times; we tell our stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">All of us have been
wounded in ways both personal and collective; all need care. We reach out to one another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">And, together, we
envision. Based on who we are and where
we have been, we etch out new directions and the values we may apply for
traveling them.<b> </b>One thread of this undertaking is to have
clarity about what we do not want to take with us; the work of dismantling is
critical. Another is to know how we wish
to live; this is the reconnecting, the re-communing, the re-invention of the
means of survival. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In our grappling
for words one thing can be said: we are beings of spirit and bone, intellect
and luminosity, tenderness and terror -- and <i>courage</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="Style1" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">To the feast of
life! <b><o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2017.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Lewis
Mumford, <i>The Human Prospect</i>. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city>: Beacon, 1955, p.
230.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="edn2">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2017.doc#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Lewis
Mumford, <i>The Myth of the Machine: The
Pentagon of Power</i>, p<span style="color: red;">. </span>430-435.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="edn3">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2017.doc#_ednref3" name="_edn3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Email
from Stephanie Mills, February 6, 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="edn4">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2017.doc#_ednref4" name="_edn4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Kirkpatrick
Sale, <i>Rebels Against the Future,</i> p.
34; from Phyllis Dean, <i>The First
Industrial Revolution</i>. <st1:city w:st="on">Cambridge</st1:city>: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Cambridge</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> Press, 1967; Eric Hobsbawm
and George Rudé, <i>Captain Swing.</i> 1968.
Reprint. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place>:
Norton, 1975; W.G. Hoskins, <i>The Making of
the English Landscape</i>. 1955 Reprint. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1985;
W.Q.M. Howitt, <i>Rural Life of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region></i>. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>: 1838; Pat Hudson,
<i>Industrial Revolution</i>. <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city>: Edward Arnold, 1992; J.M. Neeson, <i>Commoners: Common Right, Enclosure and
Social Change in</i> <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><i>England</i></st1:place></st1:country-region><i>, 1700-1820</i>. <st1:city w:st="on">Cambridge</st1:city>:
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Cambridge</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> Press, 1993; K.D.M. Snell, <i>Annals of the Labouring Poor.</i> <st1:city w:st="on">Cambridge</st1:city>: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Cambridge</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> Press, 1985;
M.E. Turner, <i>English Parliamentary
Enclosure</i>. <st1:city w:st="on">Hamden</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">CONN</st1:state>:
Archon Books, 1980; <i>Enclosure in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region>, 1750-1830</i>.
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>:
Macmillan, 1984; and Arthur Young,<i> Rural</i>
<i>Economy</i>, 1770 and <i>Observations, </i>1773.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="edn5">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2017.doc#_ednref5" name="_edn5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <st1:city w:st="on">Sale</st1:city>, p. 26; from W.O Henderson, <i>Industrial <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region></st1:place>
under the Regency</i>. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>:
Frank Cass, 1968.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="file:///G:/WRITING/BLOG/luddite.com%2017.doc#_ednref6" name="_edn6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Agence
France-Presse, December 28, 2007; and “Mine Your Own Business,” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Earth</span></i></st1:placename><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Island</st1:placetype></span></i></st1:place><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Journal</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calisto MT","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">, Vol. 23 No. 1,
Spring 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905953524121462477.post-28090772291171533692012-10-12T10:30:00.000-07:002012-11-11T11:38:48.451-08:00XVIII: valiant activists, all <br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">I thank you, brave reader, for your attention to these issues
that seem to pale and fade against the onslaught that has overcome us in
today’s world of genetic engineering, supercomputers, wireless communications, mass
mining and malls, and the triumph of all that is destroying the planet. As a final offering to you, and in celebration
of the valiant rebels of the 19<sup>th</sup> century, I am providing a list the
participants of the various Mega-technology conferences and Jacques Ellul
Society gatherings that took place between 1992 and 1998. Maybe you will be interested in their work as
well? They are:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Frederique
Apffel-Marglin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Wendell Berry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Paul Blau<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Chet Bowers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Beth Burrows<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Fritjof Capra<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Clifford Cobb<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Martha Crouch<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">John Davis<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Richard Douthwaite<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Gustavo Esteva<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Per Gahrton<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Chellis Glendinning<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Edward Goldsmith<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Susan Griffin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Elisabeth
Hermodsson<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Sandy Irving<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Martin Khor<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Andrew Kimbrell<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">David Korten<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Satish Kumar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Sigmund Kvaloy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">John Lane<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Kaiulani Lee<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Jerry Mander<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Andrew McLaughlin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Ralph Metzner<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Maria Mies<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Stephanie Mills<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">John Mohawk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Ashis Nandy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Helena
Norberg-Hodge<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Godfrey Reggio<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Jeremy Rifkin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Kirkpatrick Sale<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Michiel Schwarz<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Richard Sclove<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">George Sessions<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Vandana Shiva<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Sulak Sivaraksa<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Charlene Spretnak<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">David Suzuki<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Doug Tompkins<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Jan Van Boeckel<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Langdon Winner<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Tracy Worcester<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Engravers MT","serif"; font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;">Ned Ludd Lives!<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Engravers MT","serif"; font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText">
<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">With thanks to Gonzalo Peña Sánchez for
wild creativity, patience, and asking all the right questions while crafting
this blog.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText">
<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoBodyText">
<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";"><br /></span></i></b></div>
</div>
Chellis Glendinninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00169143691338678001noreply@blogger.com