Candles and Carriages

Before Edison and Ford, people used candles (for lighting) and carriages (for transportation).

What did these 2 C’s have in common? slow and unpredictable (horse manure).

People took a stroll on Sunday, along the river bank and at the park. For the well-to-dos, a road trip in the country side. There wasn’t much of a need to re-boot.

Fatigue and stress belong in modernity and machine age.

When I grew up, time was compressed with “domino effect” which led up to the end of the Vietnam War. Population of South Vietnam was 17 million (N. VN perhaps 20 million). Now, Vietnam stands at 95.5 million and counting, with billions in investment and remittance.

Malthus was studied in school i.e. agricultural growth could not keep up with population explosion. Yet we see drastic reduction in agricultural labor (down to 1% in the US) while everyone are still with enough food thanks to Agri-tech.

We check our phones multiple times a day, commenting and commiserating on the virus that terrorizes our world. The dead seem to be more at peace than the living – who contend with street congestion, climate change and sea level rising (in Australia, flood replaces fire).

All things digital, cascading and connecting. More firewalls and border walls. Yet we feel ill at ease, our stomach churns and many among us are addicted to pain-killers.

What’s going on? The Wright brothers flight demo brought NYC to its knees. Edison lit up the Chicago World Fair and created such awe that Americans who saw electricity for the first time, thought they were in Heaven.

After Ford (automobile) and Frederick Taylor (assembly line), candles and carriages faded to be relics of the past.

When those C-130’s kept flying over the Saigon during that fateful April 1975, time was compressed for me and the whole country. Tanks were in no hurry, unlike terrified families who charged the US Embassy. Even the Ambassador still refused to face reality (that it’s over) until ordered out (by his boss) along with his puppy to board the next to the last chopper.

From that moment on, I was put on a fast track: no more strolling: burning the midnight oil, picking up on the nuances, articulating one’s position and taking a stand on issues etc… as America got dumbing down with fake news and fake boobs. Cinema replaced by clips ( Youtube or twitter) and Polanski/Pollack celluloid screens by cell phones’ screens.

In time-lapse clips, you will see bodies walking all over the streets of NYC or corpses floating in SEA seas. And surprisingly, you will find fewer workers working the field, displaced by automation and airplanes.

No more candles and carriages (except for nostalgic and reminiscent sightseeing tour in New Orleans, LA and Lancaster, PA). Let the Amish rule since slow is their pace: No on crock-pots (electricity is no no) and Yes on candles and carriages.