M I G H T Y  P E N  A N D  S W O R D

Information has become a raw material. Rather than simply defining what is known, it now has a life of its own. We can take information and create a new context--a new beginning--and from that, a completely different meaning can emerge: a socially rebellious sixties rock song is used to sell cars, Ben Franklin becomes an insurance salesman, Fred Astaire dances with a vacuum cleaner, and a cloudy windswept sky represents computer software.4 The process of reshaping information is a new tool that reshapes all the other tools.

The use of tools, or as we now say, the use of technology, has always been the weight that tips the scale in favor of whomever uses it. But what are the consequences when a tool is no longer directly connected to its origins, or to those it most directly affects? The skilled use of technology has always enabled one country to dominate another, one person to succeed over another, and beginning in the Industrial Revolution, it has enabled the activities of machines to regulate the activities of humans. The skilled use of mass media technology has permitted very large numbers of people to become familiar with the phrase, "The pen is mightier than the sword," and to be comfortable with the idea that we can influence history through the manipulation of information, and through the use of force.

But having the power of pen and sword does not necessarily translate into greater control for individuals, or for the communities we live in. As information and new technologies spread, so does the ability to accomplish tasks, and with that comes greater complexity, and greater competition. Competition promotes innovation, but scattering tools everywhere has had another effect--we are becoming more focused on the abilities tools offer than on our ability to understand and appreciate the relationship we have with them. That relationship is important because the way we use tools influences our personal lives and the path history takes.

It is ironic that with all of the abilities technological innovation has given us, so much is expressed, yet so much personal expression takes a back seat to the desire for economic gain and the need for personal safety. Gone are the days of the liberal arts college education helping to "round out the individual," and gone are the easy-going personal connections to the social communities we live in: education is career development, and we now have gated communities. And that really is the story of this book--technology has become so embedded in our lives, we no longer notice how distracted from living we have become. At the same time, we have lost touch with the process by which we develop new tools--in the late Twentieth Century, we learned to create technology...just because. The seeds to this self-perpetuating mass consumption were sown in the 1800's Industrial Revolution.

In many ways, the origins of the Industrial Revolution in the United States were directly linked to historical events in England, as was my metaphor for technology, "The pen is mightier than the sword." In the 1800s, England was concerned about protecting its imperial hold on India and one area of concern was neighboring Afghanistan. The Khyber Pass connects Kabul with what is today the north east corner of Pakistan.

4. Advertisements for: Volkswagen, Franklin Insurance Company, Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner, and Microsoft.