Facebook. Not progress
Facebook isn’t progress
Op-ed: Egypt shows us that technology means nothing without taking responsibility for our actions
The victory chants of Cairo protestors are resonating powerfully towards other Arabic states, with city walls still adorned with English-language graffiti in red letters: “Facebook.” Much had been written about the relatively simple computer program at the basis of the seemingly innocent social network notion, which helped in destabilizing Mubarak’s regime in Egypt.
Upon the fall of the man at the top of the Egyptian pyramid, we monitor our neighbors with concern and wonder what will happen there . The answers are not encouraging: The Egyptians may have heard about Facebook, but not about contraceptives, which explains the high population growth rate despite the terrible economic problems.
The Egyptians also heard very little about advanced agriculture, which would have resolved many of their poverty problems, and did not hear about women’s contribution to the economy should they be granted equal status.
The value of democracy which many Egyptians cry for is not in their blood, and most of them espouse the values of Islam, which is premised on undemocratic principles. And so, the lovely female student who hit the streets and celebrated with a sense of victory will wake up today in the same crowded room, while suffering abject poverty and deeply rooted discrimination. She will apparently stay there for generations to come.
It’s amazing to discover that this backward Egyptian people is the direct descendent of the Pharaoh dynasty, which marked the zenith of human progress thousands of years ago, with high-level culture, medicine, language and art. Some of these abilities are high-level to this day. The unique construction method of the pyramids inspires global architects to this day and is considered one of the wonders of the world.
However, the Egyptians are not the only ones who went from being progressive to being an uninspiring and sometimes backward nation. A little to the north we have the Greeks, the inventors of democracy, who today face economic and national collapse. And what about the Italians? The descendents of culture and art inventors mostly watch bikini-clad models on TV while repeatedly electing a ridiculous prime minister.
Top of the pyramid
If we move to the West, to England, we discover that the nation that gave rise to the rule of law and is the cradle of modern culture barely controls its own island and is mostly addicted to sports gambling and yellow journalism. Across the Atlantic, the sinking US empire proved that advanced means entrusted in young hands can lead to immense ecological disasters; the huge oil stain they left behind can be seen even from space.
In a world of giant, declining civilizations that that merge into one global dough, it appears that the notion of progress had been misunderstood: Progress is not Facebook, or an iPhone, or a sophisticated laptop, or a shiny satellite, or a missile that can make you a cup of coffee a moment before it explodes. Progress is first and foremost a notion that allows us to live in better balance with nature around us and enables us to survive and live equally and peacefully within ourselves.
Progress is about deep understanding of the past, taking responsibility, and taking action. It is about knowing where you came from in order to know where you’re going, and above all it’s about internalizing that you have the power.
Should this insight not be instilled, Egyptian protestors will march with fury several decades from now in order to replace yet another regime. They will continue to do it time and again until they understand that they are directly responsible for their own situation, and that the power to advance their lives is in their hands, based on inner observation.
Instead of looking up with anger, they will turn their gaze in the other direction and be surprised to discover that they are the ones who are always at the top of the pyramid.
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