It's an amazingly easy thing to become an active participant in the online global dynamic today. For many, however, it's not so easy to grasp the responsibility that comes with the power to instantly communicate far and wide.
What was once the nuanced province of kings, statesmen, and educated professionals, has become a forceful tool in the hands of common men and fringe groups. Cultural definition, traditions, and beliefs, as well as national interests now are being reshaped by the masses ... without a plan, without a safety net, without effective checks and balances.
Not to say there aren't powerful agendas being worked out there. Quite clearly, the useful online tools that are so enabling in many positive ways are doubling as weapons against civilization and social order by some malevolent parties large and small.
Battling for Hearts and Minds
Social scientists and communication professionals like to talk about the sophistication of the civilized individual today. Certainly most have learned to be more discerning with regard to their ubiquitous exposures to advertising, for instance.
But the truth of the matter is that most folks with their own keyboard and LCD monitor are ill-equipped to effectively manage their absorption of what they choose to look at. And sometimes worse, they have little concept of how their own contributions to the global stream of consciousness impacts the overall direction or eddies and swirls in their own small segments of reality.
It's a huge set of concepts to try to put your arms around--how omnidirectional electronic globalization is changing everything. Even our own personal vulnerabilities and ongoing adaptations to a world twisting, turning, and rushing through the canyons of history are impossible to stay on top of.
Still, it's important, I think, to be reminded of where the real power is shifting today. You and I and billions of others out there from countless different viewpoints of reality are chipping and sometimes blasting out new boundaries and channels for future dialog. But with dialog inevitably comes conflict. Pain and suffering can become by-products, if not even objectives for some. Growing chaos seems assured before things somehow are to become settled again.
My main points:
1. Accept personal responsibility for positively contributing to our world. Volunteer, donate time and money, but also be very cognizant of how powerful your words and communicated emotions are when you launch them into cyberspace. It's not just a virtual world anymore, but a place that defines global perceptions and pushes reality in powerful ways.
2. Learn to be more discerning in your own exposure to the world. Your defenses are not as impenetrable as you want to think. You ARE being manipulated in your thoughts ... just make sure you choose wisely who you will allow to mold the future you.
3. Consider how swirling global perceptions and volatile diplomatic dynamics should affect your outlook on crisis preparedness. At the very least, I would propose that our future will be very different, even near-term, than what we might think it will be. The uncertainty is because of the rapidity of change in every aspect of life, as driven by the complexity of our global interconnectivity. Such explosive change can be traced not only to the rise of individual empowerment around the globe, but also to the resulting demise of traditional powercenters and the chaos that can ensue. Bottom line, expect the unexpected.
Get Ready, Seriously ... www.safecastleroyal.com
Well put JC.
ReplyDeleteSomething for all of us to be aware of and watch out for.