Ted Williams, The Golden Voice a Comment on Our Times

The man in the news recently, Ted Williams, the "golden voice," homeless, and discovered standing on the street near Columbus, Ohio, panhandling, is the big story these past couple of  weeks. Forget the new Congress, or where is Lindsay Lohan, or what is Brett Favre going to do next-any more photos Brett?
No Ted is the story.

There is a little in each of us that wishes some miracle, out of the blue, would happen-maybe the lottery- that would propel us into what we imagine would be a new and better level. But that is not the big story here, and I think we should say it.

The big story is technology. With the annual technology show just ending it's appropriate that we take a few seconds (not enough time with all the technology to play with) and reflect on what this story means.

I was at a lecture a year ago where the speaker was talking about  technology and how it causes revolutions in world history.  He first mentioned the printing press. It had a lot to do with the reformation, and upset the entire structure of the dominant Roman Catholic Church of the day. I don't think he mentioned gun powder, but that also changed a lot of history. Then we could bring in the invention of iron, or the use of the horse as a weapon. We could go on.

But the technology of today, specifically, the cameras the Internet the iPhone have brought us all together much more easily that in the past. I think the news has showered us with all the tragedies around the world, that seem to make it too difficult to go outside sometimes because of fear it could happen to us. It takes time for our primitive brains to catch up with the experiences that technology places before us. The Apollo astronauts had numerous psychological problems when they returned from the moon visits, and they were the best we could come up with to make that journey. We are in a new and challenging environment.

But the real story of Ted Williams is the technology and how it can and did instantaneously change his life. That is also difficult to comprehend. But these changes are not always for the good, however. People put terribly foolish things about themselves on the web, and they will never be able to live them down (hopefully not this short piece.)

Our technology is a powerful force, and we are just beginning to see its influence in our time. Will China be able to control the forces of communication as its citizens  peek at the ideas of the entire world? Will Islam be able to continue to control the women subject to male domination in their societies? Will the terrorists be able to continue with their ruthless killing of innocents as their heinous acts are exposed on the Internet?  Only time will tell us. Stay tuned.