Connected: An Internet Love Story

The first thing I do in the morning when I wake up is go to my computer, turn on Tweetdeck and see if anyone has mentioned me @nathnjackson or sent me direct messages, or has even retweeted my brilliant messages sometime during the night.

I used to stumble into the bathroom and then slap some coffee into a mug while letting my dog out of her kennel.  Now all that takes second place to checking my online status.  I feel so disconnected when I don't have Internet access.  If my computer is not available or if there is no Wi-Fi in whatever backwoods, Podunk store or town I am in I take out my smart phone and complain.

Now, I wouldn't say I was addicted to the Internet because I can stop anytime.  I really can.  I can stop right now if I wanted to, but then you wouldn't get to see the ending of this post.  I do this for you, dear reader, not for my own pleasure.

So what was the world like back in the early to mid nineties when the Internet was still called the "World Wide Web?"  It was a time of rumors, hearsay and a feeling of isolation.  The world was literally your neighborhood and your school.  You cared not for what happened a few streets over let alone what was going on across the planet.  Well that's not entirely true.  I did care about the world even in my pre-Internet days.  I read newspapers, books, magazines and tried to watch television programs that featured international news.  I listened to radio at night time because the BBC came on around midnight and their accents and information filled in the gaps that the USA celebrity gossip central media had left.

Then in 1995 I got my first access to the Internet through a class in High School.  I set up an email account (which I still have) and started exploring the chat rooms and the free online encyclopedias.  I fell in love with the speed and randomness of chat rooms and often spent hours after school chatting with other teens across the planet.  I even made a rudimentary website at the now defunct Geocities. 

I was absorbed and impressed by the Internet culture.  I loved the predictable rants, threats and insults from the socially inept.  I craved the chance to be a knight in shining armor saving the one bullied participant in the chat rooms.  And then something happened.  I discovered news media sites from different countries in English.

I set my homepage to The Tokyo Times and started reading other Asian papers as well, Singapore, Hong Kong and probably the most bizarre, The Moscow Times.  I was becoming a student of the world and I couldn't get enough.  I abandoned American papers and news media for the BBC, Reuters and pretty much anything that did not concentrate on the political grandstanding and petty cat and mouse game of American politics.  Of course, I was kidding myself if I thought that politics were serious business anywhere else, but it made me feel special, a truly global citizen that I new what was happening in the Japanese Diet while the rest of my classmates were busy discussing this end of grunge and the new sound of sugary pop.

I can't express how grateful I am for the Internet.  I'm on everyday and even though it has its problems, trolls and people who would use it for nefarious goals, the Internet is the most important human invention since the printing press.  Let's see what the Web has for me today.

Revolutions

These past few months has been a historic period that has seen dictators that held thrall over their people for decades fall or be stammered in their efforts by nothing more than the political will of the people.  The amount of unrest and discontent has many causes, but the peaceful solutions are not only working, but admirable.  I stand with the people of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and encourage them to continue fighting for a more perfect union.

One of the most troubling bits of news in this euphoric period has been how the US media has started to report the unrest in terms of "how will this affect us?"  I understand the need to frame these events that have not been seen in the Arab world in forty years in a way that the audience can grasp, but I think that they underestimate the American public.

The people of America say that we are a freedom loving, liberty seeking country.  Our entire history has been shaped by our claim to fame, democratically elected governments by the people, for the people and of the people.  We stand with those who would be masters of their own fate in principle at least and we have as a people not sided with dictators.

I do think that fear is the biggest emotion holding back the American people from celebrating the peaceful pursuit of freedom that we are witnessing.  I feel that too many of us are still biased and mistrustful of the entire Arab world due to the continued demonization from both left and right of the Middle East and its people.

We should be out in the streets celebrating and welcoming one of the last repressed areas in the world into the league of free people.  We claim to be the leaders of the free world and it is time that we as a people start leading.  One major aspect of leadership is celebrating the success of others that have put forth gargantuan efforts for the greater good.  We have not had to fight or risk our lives for our liberty in nearly two hundred and fifty years and I think that many of us do not understand the extreme privilege of self determination.  We have a government that through its many flaws is at least representative of its people.  We have rights to petition to redress hurts and problems with those we elect and even though most of us do nothing to right the wrongs that our government sometimes does, we still have the ability if we would only wake up.

Journalists are starting to show a fear of the unknown in regards to what these changes in the world will mean to us.  They are asking questions about the most asinine of topics gas prices.  I've seen more reporting on the effect of democratically impassioned  people on our morning commute costs than on the history of oppression, torture and control that these dictators did in the selfish pursuit and retention of power.

Our government has of course sided with many dictators if it allows our economic or security interest to thrive.  I do not think that many of us understand just how much we have given to dictators in exchange of order, oil, or military bases.  The media instead of being scared that we are losing our predictability in the Arab world should instead be investigating why we allowed these dictators to stand for so long.

What needs to happen is a series of investigations into our economic, military and social dealings with dictators who aim bullets at their own people.  Why have we allowed a series of despots to hold sway over millions when we claim to love freedom and liberty so much?  We need to start asking questions and showing our support of people making their own destinies.  Even if we are uncomfortable with the decisions they may make, we must stand with them in their own determination.

It is time we showed leadership, true leadership that has nothing to do with government, but involves our citizens showing delight, wonder and appreciation at the bravery and courage that the people in the Arab world are showing right now.  We cannot even imagine risking our lives for a cause like liberty because we have been born into privilege.  We need to remember the continuing struggles of our own union and give encouragement and comfort to those that are fighting to bring about a more positive, inclusive government for themselves and their children.