I do not want to repeat the lyrics but it is 100%
truth.
Why
does everyone seem to have the “now, now, now, give it to me now” mentality? Or
they want everything done for them and handed to them on a silver platter on
the red carpet instead of making the time to do so, as I eluded to in a prior
post in this series. It’s as if our brains have gotten so used to a piece of
machinery doing things for us or a technological object giving us the answer
that we are incapable of using our brains anymore or doing anything for
ourselves, then complain when it is necessary. Again, as mentioned earlier… I’m
old school.
I
remember the first time I used an automatic toilet. I was young; maybe 7 or 8,
and it was at the McDonald’s in Wisconsin Rapids. It scared the heck out of me
and I ran out of that bathroom so fast…
Who
invented these things? Were there really that many people in the world in such
a rush that they could not take two seconds to turn around and push down a
handle?
I
think the automatic toilets are what made me terrified of public restrooms as a
child. Or the fact that I believed I would get sucked down the drain with the
toilet contents.
I
was 15 when we got our first microwave. This thing was enormous and took up ¾
of our counter space and only had a turn dial for time. One mode. The first
time I used it I was babysitting a 7 and 3 year old for the summer and making
leftover chicken for lunch. I took the foil wrapped chicken out of the fridge
and tossed it in the microwave, turned the dial, and went to prepare the rest
of lunch. About 5 seconds later the 7 year old asked me why there were sparks
flying around in the microwave… yeah, I kind of forgot when Mom and Dad told me
the night before not to put anything metal in there. I never did that again. By
the way… food cooked in the microwave tastes disgusting. The microwave is for
re-heating food to make it hot, not to cook a meal in.
Remember
the excitement of getting a card or hand-drafted letter in the mail from one of
your friends or relatives? When was the last time you brightened someone’s day
by sending a hand-written letter or homemade card? These days everyone
communicates via e-mail, text messaging, facebook, instant messenger, snapchat,
twitter, etc.
Whatever did we do in days prior
to the Internet? We visited people in person instead of virtually. We wrote
letters and sent them with stamps via the U.S. Postal Service, and yes, it
would arrive three (or more) days later.
Everyone had a map or atlas in
their vehicle and knew how to read it instead of a voice on the dashboard
telling you where to go.
We would spend hours in a giant
room full of books (known as a library) to research information alphabetically
in an encyclopedia in order to perfect our research papers. Other books related
to the subject were searched for using index cards in drawers, known as
something called a card catalog. We couldn’t just google the information on our
phones anywhere we were. I remember it being the coolest new thing when the
library received a computerized card catalog, because then you could even
borrow items from other libraries without driving 40 miles! And yes, even those
would arrive three (or 103) days later, depending on how many copies vs. how
many people were in line ahead of you for that item.
Books were paperback or hardcover
or on a cassette tape… we could not read a book by staring at a flat screen
that fit into our purse. We actually had to carry the physical book around.
If we were out and about and
needed to make a phone call, we had to ask to use the phone wherever we were
(if they would let you) or hope you could find a quarter in your pocket and a
pay phone. The last time I remember using a pay phone was over ten years ago…
at the Sand Lake Road Kwik Trip in Onalaska in 2003.
When a new movie came out on VHS…
yes, I said VHS… we did not get to see it streaming on Hulu or Netflix… and
pay-per-view did not exist unless you were a millionaire that owned land to
place the spaceship-sized satellite dish in the backyard. We actually had to
travel to the video store or somewhere that rented movies and pay to borrow it
for the night, then ensure it was returned by 5:30 or 6 p.m. the following
evening or they would charge you for another day’s rental fee. If you were
lucky, you were able to keep it for two nights.
None of these fancy little debit
cards existed… you were stuck waiting in the grocery store line while everyone
in front of you wrote out a paper check. And you actually had to keep track of
your expenses in your checkbook because the money was not removed immediately
and if you were caught writing bad checks...ooh whee... you had better get to
the bank during business hours to take out that cash because a 24 hour ATM had
not been invented yet.
What has attributed to this
society of impatience? In my blunt old school mindset, the rise in technology
has turned society lazy and stupid. Stupid as in brainless.
Lazy in the sense that we do not
even have to flush our own toilets because they’re automatic.
Lazy in the thought of not
needing to write a letter or send out invitations because it can be done via a
facebook invite or “poke”.
Lazy in the sense that we cannot
do simple math in our heads because “there’s an app for that”.
Stupid in the sense that a ten
year old cannot read a map because it is now a talking box on the dash.
Stupid in the idea that phonics
is not taught in our public schools and kids are learning that txt tlk and “luv
ya” is proper spelling and okay.
Stupid in the thought that one
cannot memorize a phone number because it’s in their cell phone contacts and
hopefully one never drops their lifeline of a call phone into a toilet, because
those automatic things will flush right on your tush and you would not have any
numbers memorized to call someone and you’ll probably be late for that meeting
now because you cannot remember when and where it was without your lifeline of
a Palm Pilot directing your every move…
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