Technological Advancements: Are We Really Advancing?

Jerusalem, Egypt, Rome. These were three of the most abundant and advanced empires in the history of the world. However, they all met their downfall; many of them more than once. Do you remember Pompeii? This city was one of the richest of the empire of Rome. Yet, it was destroyed in a matter of hours by a nearby “mountain,” which would have never been expected to erupt. Yet even after this volcanic eruption, the people came back to the city. Why would you come back to a city of desolation? They came for their gold, their jewels, and their precious things. After coming back, these people were killed almost instantly by the pyroclastic flow of Mount Vesuvius. This story captures the image of just how reliant these people were on material possessions.
There is another nation that has been considered (and probably is) the most technologically advanced and abundant nation in the history of mankind. That nation is theUnited States of America. This nation is the greatest nation in the whole world. However, it may be safe to say that we are on our way down. Disaster may one day strike, and we will have nothing. We will suffer because of the materialism of our society. Nevertheless, our society may not be as reliant on material possessions as it is on technology.
Technology is great. The technology that we have today in America is amazing. Our society is more advanced than Rome could have ever dreamed of. We have the telephone. We can communicate with people who are thousands of miles away. We have television. We have the internet. We can watch things that are happening thousands of miles away with just the click of a mouse or the push of a button at the exact moment that those things are happening. There is so much good happening with technology. It helps the world out somuch, and there are many Americans who know how to limit their time on technology. However, technology is way too overused and abused.

In order to really advance this world, the next generation
must learn to rely less on technology

The bottom line is this: Americans are too reliant today on technology. This reliance is applicable to many forms of technology; for example, television. The New York Daily News reported in 2012 that the average American watches 34 hours of television a week. That’s almost 5 hours of TV each day. The phone is another huge problem. The Pew Research Internet Project reported that, as of January of 2014, over 90% of Americans have cell phones, and that shouldn’t be a surprising stat. Also, according to a study done by the Entertainment Software Association in 2013, 58% of Americans play video games regularly. How much more time can you waste? Americans are so reliant on technology, and they depend on it for their information, communication, and entertainment.
This reliance is especially true for the youth of today; for my generation. Everybody has their I-pods, their cell phones, and their internet access. These are great tools that could be used for so much good, but instead they are addictive. If you take a teenager’s phone away, they are not going to be happy, and they are not going to know how to function, because they spend so much time texting, browsing the internet, and playing worthless games. The worst part of all of this is that it is happening at a younger and younger age. It pains me to see six-year-olds with their touch screen phones, playing games and wasting time when they could be socially interacting with their peers and their family. A lot of parents are no help to this cause. Many of them, in fact, are quite the opposite—they give technologic devices to these kids to keep them entertained, so that they won’t be bothered and they won’t have to deal with problems that the kids have.
With this reliance on technology, there comes another problem: immorality. This is the most dangerous of all problems within a nation. Pornography is one of the biggest issues. The Department of Women’s Services and Resources at BYU reported that the pornography industry, which is driven by technology and the internet, makes over 57 billion dollars each year; 12 billion coming from the United States. 12% of the total websites on the internet are dedicated to pornography. This is a huge problem. Immorality is the single most influential factor in the downfall of an empire. This was true with Rome, Jerusalem, Egypt, and so many others. Wickedness brings natural disasters upon people. That is why Mount Vesuviuserupted: God must punish those who ignore His laws and value material possessions over His commands.
So what really matters? Once disaster strikes and technology is no longer available, what is left? The youth of today, in order to survive in times of crisis, must value more and be more reliant upon things like skills, talents, and education; things that they will always have and things that will bless others. They need to be able to find entertainment, information, and ways of communication without relying on technology. This is what matters. In order to value these things more, the youth of today need to spend less time with technology, and they need to spend more time face-to-face with other people; improving their relationships with them more than improving their relationships with their screens.
We have technology because the United States is so great. People forget why this nation is so great. We are great because God is with us, and God will not be with those who violate His laws. In order to avoid Rome, we need to limit our technology and influence others to limit their use. I’m not saying, by any means, that we must abolish our use of technology altogether. These devices can be used for so much good if we use them the right way at the right times. We just need to make sure that we are doing that. Only then can this nation continue to be the great nation that it has been throughout its history. As author Aldous Huxely once wrote, “Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.” We can’t let this happen.

Should It Be the Government's Job to Try to Keep People Healthy?

The majority of Americans would agree that health has value. It is also evident that what we put into our bodies affects our health; that is, food, fluids, etc. One thing is sure: many Americans are not where they should be in terms of health. Health is essential to life, so the majority of individuals would agree that health is valuable.
What is the reason for government? There are many arguments for purposes or roles of government, and one of them is definitely this: to protect its people’s unalienable (or God-given) rights.
In 1776, Thomas Jefferson was drafting the Declaration of Independence. This document would include a list of things that King George did that injured the colonies, a statement declaring independence from Great Britain, and many fundamental governmental principles that this nation was founded on. As Jefferson was writing the document’s first draft, he originally penned these words: “men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and property." This word didn’t end up in the final Declaration, but Jefferson and many others would agree that property is a fundamental God-given right. John Locke even said so.
How does the principle of the unalienable right to property apply to our bodies? Our bodies are the ultimate element of our property; one of God’s great gifts to us. God has given us freedom to do what we please with our bodies, so we should be able to decide what we put into our bodies. These are self-evident truths. The government is here to secure our rights, not to infringe upon them. The power to tell us what to put into our bodies derives not from the government, but from God. Since God has given us each agency to do what we want with our bodies, the government should not be controlling what we eat.
In John Stossel’s Fox News hour, “Myths, Lies, and Complete Stupidity,” he shows multiple examples of ways that the government is infringing on our right to choose what we eat. For example, the mayor of New York City has outlawed drinking cups 32 oz. or larger from businesses that he can control. This is outrageous! First of all, this is restraining the right of the people to partake of what they desire. This is an unalienable right that should not be taken away from any person in the land of opportunity.
Of course, just as all other rights are, this right only goes so far that it does not infringe on the rights of others. Many substances cause individuals to do things that they wouldn’t normally do without those substances. For this reason, many drugs and other substances are outlawed in theUnited States, and this is how it should be. The government has a duty to secure the rights of all of its citizens, not just the rights of a few. A right is not a right if it takes freedom away from another. The government has a duty to outlaw certain substances in order to secure the rights of the sum of its people.

Thomas Jefferson originally penned the
words, "Life, Liberty, and Property" when he
was writing the Declaration of Independence

 The second reason why the New York mayor’s plan is outrageous is this: it hardly makes a positive influence on the people that it affects. Instead of just buying one cup, people have to use two, or they must find another means to drink as much as they previously were. People still drink the same amount of fluid that they’ve always been drinking, and for this reason, this law is only a nuisance. It only makes life harder for individuals and companies.
Finally, this law is outrageous because it infringes on the rights of companies and entities that it affects. Companies should have the right to sell whatever size of substance that they think is most efficient. If that means that companies are selling ten gallon cups, let it be. Once again, government is construed to secure the rights of the people, not to tell the people how they need to live their lives.
Much has been done by the government to infringe on the rights of the people, and it is the people’s job to stop this and keep it from happening, just like the Declaration of Independence states: “…when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.” We need to get this country back to the principles that it was founded on. Health is good, but freedom is better.
It is self-evident, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, that our Creator has endowed us with the unalienable right to property. It is our choice to do what we want with our property as long as we aren’t hurting others. It is okay for the government to promote health, but it is not right for the government to try to keep people healthy. And that’s a self-evident truth.