“There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction” - Winston Churchill

Is there a child of the 1970's who hadn't watched the Jetson's? The nuclear family and all their 'futuristic' gadgets sure left a child wanting for a dishwasher with robotic arms to help them with their chores each day.

In today's world, the Jetson's would be hard pressed to keep up with the gadgetry available. Video chat would make it possible not only for Judy to discuss dinner plans with George visually from the office, but also with little Elroy on his tour to Iraq. Who needs Rosie when a Roomba can clean your carpet using GPS while you are away.

A phone on the go would have been shocking to the Jetson's, and now they are so commonplace there are kids who have never used a land line or even know what that means. We feel tethered when tied to a cord. If it isn't cordless or wireless we are bored and frustrated. Our Televisions are simultaneously getting larger and smaller (micro). Instant gratification with movies and television, instant food, instant reading with kindle's and nook's are is not only available but expected.

At what price?


But what is all this doing for us? Are we getting smarter? I doubt it. In better shape? Hardly. Are we more efficient? It seems to be the opposite may be true. Pixar's 2008 animated film paints a vivid picture of our future. Sitting in cooshie chair, sipping on our 48oz soda and letting all the gadgets do our work. Ninety-plus percent of jobs in the 2000's are internet or computer related. Many more jobs are becoming telecommuting jobs.


Flashback just 100 years ago, this country was in a depression. Families were losing everything they had. Losing their farms and land. They were hard times, many families packed all they owned onto wagons and trucks and headed west for the gold and fortunes they never found. Imagine this scenario today. I don't know many families who could get all they own into a truck or wagon. What would you take? Electronic gadgetry does little when on the road without chargers. Without our designer clothes and hairstyles. Would we make it far? No microwaves, no McDonald's or Wendy's. No hot showers or toilet covers, rarely a bath in a washtub.

Families in the 1920's were used to hard physical work. Up before dawn; plowing, clearing, feeding and rearing animals which would one day be the food on their table. No mid-night run to wal-mart for milk. Milk would be gathered from the cow.Today many cannot touch a shopping cart or door handle without slathering on the sanitizer.




Are we our own worst enemy?

Is all of this good for us? We sit in cubicles 8-14hrs a day, hardly see the sun. We buy foods with so many preservatives that they could potentially survived the past 100 years still intact. We have to visit gyms in the few hours we have left in the day in order to sustain a semi-normal weight and physical health. Does this mean we are healthier today? Marvels of modern medicine definitely helps to stave of the biggies... Cancer, heart disease, and high cholesterol. We have immunizations for many illnesses that could have killed us of so many years ago but are we going too far?

I don't think we could survive the same strives of our ancestors. We have become soft. The more medications, sterilizers, lackadaisical ways and gadgets we have to make life easier for us is directly proportionate to the amount of new problems we create for ourselves.

Heart disease is on the rise. Is it the red meat we are eating? Or is it the large quantities of reconstituted, steroid ridden meats we consume. Is it the fast that after consuming that same over-sized, chemically preserved steak we sit in front of an also over-sized television to catch the latest season of reality TV. Possibly watching overweight couples forced to push their bodies to heights of exertion than their bodies have ever seen. There is a reason that some of the most watched reality shows are about losing weight and making new lives.

And is technology also killing our workforce? Non-technology driven jobs are becoming obsolete. If you do not use computers in your job will you become obsolete? Many workers are being replaced by robots and computers. Is this our own detriment? No longer is the land you own, your own security blanket for survival. Even the written word and books and newspapers are becoming a thing of the past. Many jobs depend on the skills of today and the technology of tomorrow.

Where do we go from here?

On a personal note, I am trying the old basics. This past summer, I grew a garden of my own. No preservatives in my own garden. I have attempted to buy local meats and vegetables over processed forms. I began an 'organic' exercise program of push-ups. sit-ups and jumping jacks. I will add some running and jump rope when the outdoors warms a little. I use soap but will not become a prisoner to the hand sanitizers and let my body work up its own antibodies and resistances. So far so good. I am lucky enough to have skills in the technology fields however those jobs are hard to come by as well. Time will tell.

What do you do to avoid sickness? Do you feel as though you are falling victim to the luxuries and cooshie-chairs of today? How has technology affected your job?