06-03 Technology

Those pubs around the coast of Ireland in 1967 filled up with locals each evening that would walk over the fields at night to have a chat and a pint or two of black ale. It was their link to the world and a place to meet their local politicians, who were always buying rounds.
It was a summer holiday when our children were young, and at all the B&B’s we had great sitters so we could go out to the pubs and mix with the locals. Most of these people now have cell phones that give them access to multiple sources of information.
And another great story was linked to making a friendship in 1975 with the Governor of the Island of Mindanao in the Philippines. We were at an International Symposium on Small Business in Tokyo. He said he had been elected twice because he had a better singing voice than his opposition. He just went from village to village singing to the people.
I am sure most of these people today have cell phones and want more than singing from their politicians.
Apparently, there are now 4 billion cell phones in use around the world. And the cartoon tells the story beautifully. Does this technology impact politics? You bet. But I am not sure anyone fully realizes just how much.
Another memory that demonstrates how technology is changing politics was watching Warner Pathe news reels during WW2. And seeing those breath- taking photographs that gave you a feeling of being part of the action.
Then there were documentaries of the brave war correspondents risking their lives to help us understand what was happening.
Today, no matter what kind of conflict unfolds anywhere in the world there is always a dozen people on site taking videos and photos of what is going on. We are simply saturated with news and news photography. Are we getting immune to real tragedy? I hope not.
The good news is that it is very difficult for politicians to fudge what is happening in the world. Technology is creating a billion eye witnesses of every great event.
And, of course, all politicians today have their own websites for communicating with their publics, for gathering data on their preferences, and for fundraising. Building a political war chest without wealthy backers is now possible.
And, it is reported that President Trump in the US has 35 million readers of his Twitter account. Who would have believed how powerful social media would become?
It does not seem so long ago when the pundits said that President Kennedy won the election over Richard Nixon for president because he looked better on television.
And I remember Prime Minister John Diefenbaker politicking from the back of a train carriage, whistle stopping from one community to another.
From my perspective, we need to remember that politics is about perception and emotion. And we should expect that every new technology will be used to create the perception that one politician will do more for you than another.
It is very hard, for average citizens, to understand the differences between politics and reality. I, personally, subscribe to two US newspapers and two Canadian newspapers so I can study the different positions taken on their editorial pages. And I try to gain a perspective from both the right and the left of the political spectrum.
And it is the wonder of technology that I can enjoy these newspapers on my I-pad each morning.
My father used to do the same thing, but with real papers arriving three days after being published. And I remember our garage with newspapers piled six feet high.
Technology is a miracle that can equally assist or destroy the way everything works. And when it comes to the most important thing of all, our democratic system, nothing, and I mean nothing, will replace personal vigilance and activism.
That’s the way I see it anyways.