Technology, Reverence, and Justice

Technology, Reverence, and Justice. What do they have in common? The combination had no meaning for me until recently.

I don't watch TV very often. Instead, I enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking and swimming. Most of the TV news and programs are too superficial for me. Casual entertainment from TV programs is OK. But, gluing oneself to the TV and believing whatever it conveys is detrimental to our intellect and to our judgment. We need to be able to read more and to think more. I find it depressing that TV, and media in general, is shaping our value systems and moral guidelines. We are easily misguided by the media. And the noise of media have drowned our senses and reduced our abilities to act properly. We can easily lose our peace and senses in this fast-paced world of constant media bombardments.

I do find some exceptions. I don't find that the latest breaking news is important. I can only watch CNN for 20 minutes, and after that, it becomes repetitive. For an in-depth look and no-hype news, I find that PBS's NewsHour is acceptable.

Since my return to the US in early April, I did watch some TV - mostly PBS programs, in Davis, California when I visited my mother. By the way, she is doing so well now that she "graduated" from the hospice program last week. We are all quite pleased with this news.

One evening, I happened to tune in to Bill Moyers Journal, a PBS program dedicated to public affairs. This used to be my all-time favorite program before I left for China. That program ended Friday, April 30, 2010, and I happened to be there to hear the news. Mr. Moyers is 75 now and it is unfair to ask him to continue on.

That was the evening I learned how technology, reverence and justice are related :-). It is so relevant to modern-day China, and I have to share this with my friends. For the last 100+ years, the Chinese government, and many individual Chinese, have believed that the serious lag in science and technology is the reason that China was repeatedly defeated by the imperial and colonial powers, and that is the reason that China has to play catch-up to be a world leader again.

I have always tried to find what other elements are essential to a successful and sustainable civilization. Technology is essential, but that is definitely an incomplete answer to me. In this episode of Bill Moyers Journal, the following excerpt from Barry Lopez filled in the missing pieces in my puzzle.

(quoting Barry Lopez)
I don't remember the philosopher, the Greek philosopher who told the story of Zeus and Prometheus. Which really stuck when I first heard it, is that Zeus said to Prometheus, "Okay, you stole fire. Great for you. Now your people have technology. Wonderful. But here's something you don't know. You lack two things. And if you don't take these two things that I will give you, this will be a failure. Technology, you know, fire, all your magic, it will fail completely. It will be your undoing. And the two things that you need to make it work are justice and reverence. And if you have these two things, you won't get in trouble with this third thing that you thought was the be all and the end all."
(end of quote)

Is this that simple? Reverence and justice are the missing pieces? History and Greek mythology can have such foresight? Justice is a serious problem in China and many other parts of the world. Inequity is prevalent and might eventually bring serious changes to the social and political systems. Reverence is profound respect, and it is definitely a virtue for individual and society as a whole. I remember that there are good examples of reverence teachings in the Chinese history. Right now, Chinese society has been pressured into modernization with materialistic goals. It is a society with impatience, disrespect, and hatred at times.

It is not easy to get to a harmonious and reverent society. We have to bring back justice and a deep sense of reverence to each other so that technology will be good for us.