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Impact of technological advancement on society
Impact of technological advancements
Impact of technological advancement on society
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Who are we to be so indubitably infatuated with ourselves, using God’s creation for our self-propulsion in life, instead of using creation to promote creation? From Adam’s and Eve’s first desires of self-promotion to a God-like status, creation has looked out among its world in search of ways to construct fortress of independence inside of its self [creation].
There is a culmination of ideas too promote community and co-dependency in culture: movements to have the same phone, same car, same hairstyle or clothing. These movements have positive intentions in the mind, yet, when introduced to the world are taken and used to promote definite autonomy. How can I make mine better, different, cooler than theirs? As Smith explains, our world creates
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American colonialism (Wendell Berry describes American’s self-indulgence in this way) perceives something it wants behind something that is nearly perfect in form, and while perfect in form, it is viewed as an obstacle. American colonialism, thus, destroys it in pursuit of what it craves, and uses it to promote its self and autonomous value. With no regard for creation, American colonialism converts “productive farm, forest, and grazing lands into strip mines” and rips apart the cohesive and organized tribal nations that stand in way of industry and economy, gold and precious metal …show more content…
If all the work that creation does yields instantaneous results, then there is no need to (essentially) work: work is no longer work, we escape work (Berry). Work with instantaneous results denies or rejects our need for faith, for we do not need to invest time and energy into making something happen, or have hope that will happen: it just happens instantaneously. Having such a mentality is dangerous, as we begin to put God into our idea of expectancy and certainty. We alienate ourselves from the true God by creating a box of expectation around him, for he is mysterious and unable to be contained. And when we do this, we begin to try to use God for our personal gain: we expect him to bless us and give us our desires. We begin to exploit God’s creation, and promote ourselves to the level of God-ship instead of glorifying God by nurturing creation’s
To many of the English colonists, any land that was granted to them in a charter by the English Crown was theirs’, with no consideration for the natives that had already owned the land. This belittlement of Indians caused great problems for the English later on, for the natives did not care about what the Crown granted the colonists for it was not theirs’ to grant in the first place. The theory of European superiority over the Native Americans caused for any differences in the way the cultures interacted, as well as amazing social unrest between the two cultures.
From the prologue through chapter one in “Wilderness and the American Mind”, the author emphasizes the affect wilderness had on the Europeans during the colonization of America. In today’s society, we are familiar with the concept of wilderness but few of us have experienced the feeling of being encapsulated in the unfamiliar territory. Today we long for wilderness, crave it even. We use it as an outlet to escape the pace of life. However, we have a sense of safety that the Europeans did not. We are not isolated in the unfamiliar, help is usually a phone call away. Though we now view the wilderness as an oasis because we enter at our own terms, in the early colonial and national periods, the wilderness was an unknown environment that was viewed as evil and dangerous.
Berry also states how “Work connects us both to Creation and to eternity” (Berry 305). He finds that a Christian’s work not only reflects their feelings of the Creator, but also brings them closer to the creation.
Cronon raises the question of the belief or disbelief of the Indian’s rights to the land. The Europeans believed the way Indians used the land was unacceptable seeing as how the Indians wasted the natural resources the land had. However, Indians didn’t waste the natural resources and wealth of the land but instead used it differently, which the Europeans failed to see. The political and economical life of the Indians needed to be known to grasp the use of the land, “Personal good could be replaced, and their accumulation made little sense for ecological reasons of mobility,” (Cronon, 62).
This particular document highlights Richard Pratt’s ideas and attitudes towards Native Americans. Essentially Pratt believed that keeping Natives on reservations is not doing them any good when it comes to assimilating them into American culture, and the only way to properly do so is to fully submerge them. Due to the fact that Native Americans are only “theoretically” learning about American culture on their reservations and not “feel[ing] the touch of it day after day” they were not becoming “true Americans” and living up to their true
This book is complete with some facts, unfounded assumptions, explores Native American gifts to the World and gives that information credence which really happened yet was covered up and even lied about by Euro-centric historians who have never given the Indians credit for any great cultural achievement. From silver and money capitalism to piracy, slavery and the birth of corporations, the food revolution, agricultural technology, the culinary revolution, drugs, architecture and urban planning our debt to the indigenous peoples of America is tremendous. With indigenous populations mining the gold and silver made capitalism possible. Working in the mines and mints and in the plantations with the African slaves, they started the industrial revolution that then spread to Europe and on around the world. They supplied the cotton, rubber, dyes, and related chemicals that fed this new system of production. They domesticated and developed the hundreds of varieties of corn, potatoes, cassava, and peanuts that now feed much of the world. They discovered the curative powers of quinine, the anesthetizing ability of coca, and the potency of a thousand other drugs with made possible modern medicine and pharmacology. The drugs together with their improved agriculture made possible the population explosion of the last several centuries. They developed and refined a form of democracy that has been haphazardly and inadequately adopted in many parts of the world. They were the true colonizers of America who cut the trails through the jungles and deserts, made the roads, and built the cities upon which modern America is based.
Greed is a large part of the American culture whether we realize it as a society or not. Many countries around the world view the United States as a selfish country that does what it wants on a global scale, and does not share or allocate its predominate wealth. I am very thankful and proud to be a citizen of this country. Even though I would risk my life to protect our country and its freedom, there are aspects about our civilization that I wish could be different. Black Elk, “a holy man and a warrior of the Lakota Nation Indians,” was a member of the Oglala Sioux tribe during the most horrific period for Native Americans in the Western part of the United States. In excerpts from the novel of his life story Black Elk Speaks, he is able to relate the differences in the ways of life from his people and the white settlers. Although he lived in the late 1800s, he is able to make reference to issues that are relevant to us today. His observations display issues such as human bonds, ethics, economics, and politics. He describes how the excessive acquisitiveness of one society led to the cultural displacement of another.
American Indians shaped their critique of modern America through their exposure to and experience with “civilized,” non-Indian American people. Because these Euro-Americans considered traditional Indian lifestyle savage, they sought to assimilate the Indians into their civilized culture. With the increase in industrialization, transportation systems, and the desire for valuable resources (such as coal, gold, etc.) on Indian-occupied land, modern Americans had an excuse for “the advancement of the human race” (9). Euro-Americans moved Indians onto reservations, controlled their education and practice of religion, depleted their land, and erased many of their freedoms. The national result of this “conquest of Indian communities” was a steady decrease of Indian populations and drastic increase in non-Indian populations during the nineteenth century (9). It is natural that many American Indians felt fearful that their culture and people were slowly vanishing. Modern America to American Indians meant the destruction of their cultural pride and demise of their way of life.
While the US may have prided themselves in the fact that we didn’t practice imperialism or colonialism, and we weren’t an Empire country, the actions conquering land in our own country may seem to rebuff that claim. In the 19th century, the West was a synonym for the frontier, or edge of current settlement. Early on this was anything west of just about Mississippi, but beyond that is where the Indian tribes had been pushed to live, and promised land in Oklahoma after policies like Indian removal, and events like the Trail of Tears. Indian’s brief feeling of security and this promise were shattered when American’s believed it was their god given right, their Manifest Destiny, to conquer the West; they began to settle the land, and relatively quickly. And with this move, cam...
...ard expansion, a person finds information about the essence of American culture. Though the English colonists came to America expecting to renew their lives through the Puritan faith, they instead found their faith and, indeed, their very society in danger from the heathen Indian presence in the surrounding wilderness. But while the Indians threatened the core of the colonials’ lives, the presence of the colonists and their westerly expansion threatened the lives and land that the Indians had held for many years. American history thus began in violence that has no single source, but rather is derived from the Puritans and Indians both fighting for and protecting their mutual interests and desires.
Hooks, Gregory, and Chad Smith. “The Treadmill of Destruction: National Sacrifice Areas and Native Americans.” American Sociological Review 69.4 (2004): 558-575. EBSCO Host. Web. 01 December, 2009.
Imperialism in America At the turn of the century, America and the views of its people changed. Many different ideas were surfacing about issues that affected the country as a whole. The Republican Party, led by William McKinley, was concentrating on the expansion of the United States and looking to excel in power and commerce. The Democratic Party at this time was led by William Jennings Bryan, who was absorbed in a sponge of morality and was concerned with the rights of man.
Native American’s place in United States history is not as simple as the story of innocent peace loving people forced off their lands by racist white Americans in a never-ending quest to quench their thirst for more land. Accordingly, attempts to simplify the indigenous experience to nothing more than victims of white aggression during the colonial period, and beyond, does an injustice to Native American history. As a result, historians hoping to shed light on the true history of native people during this period have brought new perceptive to the role Indians played in their own history. Consequently, the theme of power and whom controlled it over the course of Native American/European contact is being presented in new ways. Examining the evolving
In 1492, Christopher Columbus arrives in America seeking the riches of the Indians promised by the tales of Marco Polo. This amazing feat of bravery and courage inspired other like-minded Europeans to explore the New World. Soon, America would be filled with colonial towns which were supported financially by each country’s crown. The establishment of these modern towns interrupted the co-evolution of native americans and their natural surroundings. European countries would reap the benefits of the natural resources now available to them but would not respond for any damage made to the region’s environment. Subjugation to european countries would soon cease, but the autonomy of the established towns would require for the prolonged dependence
For years, America has always been perceived as one of the top world powers due to its ability of achieving so much technological, economical, and social progress within a mere couple decades. Despite their great accomplishments, America is actually regressing psychologically, preventing the country from reaching its true potential as an “opportunity rich” country. In Anthony Burgess’ Is America Falling Apart? , the author unveils the circumstances in which America’s restricting society and selfish ideology cause the nation to develop into the type of society it tried to avoid becoming when it separated from the British Empire.