Modernity has its place, but don’t shun the past
To the Editor:
Modernity has its place. But wasn’t it Churchill who said that “A love
for tradition has never weakened a nation”? Do we now shun the past in its
present? Should we marginalize those still living in a world free from wi-fi?
Before usernames and password updates, before smartphone coupons and social
media alerts, before data was sold...the Newspaper spread the word.
I ran into an old high school friend at Casey’s last week, for privacy sake
we will call him JD. I noticed he was holding a flip phone. As a lifelong
family farmer and someone who still has a TV antenna on the top of his
house, he said he has never had need for the internet. But then he got tense
and seemed upset and sad at the same time.
On June 25 there were Enduro Races at the Dodge County Speedway. The only
thing JD enjoys more than reading the DCI in front of the local news is
racing. He was disgruntled by the fact that there was nothing in the DCI
about it. He went off on a tangent about “the way it used to be”. JD said
the DCI always used to advertise the races, but now it was only on the
internet.
I quickly remembered another recent conversation I had with a schoolteacher
who discussed the damaging effect that no home-internet access still has on
some students. There is a digital divide that transcends common intersections
of identity and culture. It struck me as ironic that a 45 year old farmer, in
his own way, was struggling with this crisis of technology. I realized it was
an issue of access and equality.
For the sake of journalistic integrity I must also note that the idea of a
‘regional civility’ seemed to guide his grievance. He said, “Don’t
hold races against your neighbors.” As a racing fan he feels all the races
should be supported and attended. If the Enduro Races are in Kasson on a
Saturday then what sort of message does that send to the Deer Creek race
track who held races the same night? JD noted that if one human being could
be in two places at once then he could see the logic of last month’s Enduro
schedule.
He suggested if they didn’t have room in the DCI to promote the races then
perhaps they could remove some of the classifieds that have been hanging
around for years. So I asked JD who’s responsibility it was to promote the
race, the DCI or the Enduro organizers? He said, “it should be the
organizers shouldn’t it?” Case Closed.
Terry Hawkins
Mantorville