By Georg

(Views expressed in this column are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the owner of this publication.)Technology is not what it is cracked up to be. Some technological advances have made our lives easier, to be sure. I, for one, depend on computer technology to keep functioning. My eyesight being what it is, I could not do near what I am able to do with that technology. Technological advances in eye surgery kept me working at gainful employment for several years longer than I had any right to expect without that surgery. Camera technology allowed me to keep taking photographic images long after I could no longer see the image I was shooting clearly. Computer technology allows me to keep writing, even though I have to enlarge the screen image by 600 percent.But some technology can make our lives less than what it could be.Does anyone remember a time before cell phones? How did we ever get by without them? Now, you can't get away from them. Cell phones are like leaches, sucking away at our privacy. Telephones have always been a nuisance, but cell phones have driven us over the edge of sanity.Have you ever stood in line at a cash register, waiting patiently to have the clerk ring up your purchases, only to have someone crash the line with a telephone call to the clerk? If the person making that telephone call was to physically crash the line, others in the line would get violently upset with the crasher. But we allow someone to crash the line with a telephone call.Hey business people, is the bozo on the phone more important as a customer than I am just because he is on the telephone?You can’t get away from it. You can be talking with someone at the local ball field, only to have your conversation interrupted by someone calling the other person on his cell phone. And the pother person answers the cell phone, neglecting the fact that he is already engaged in a conversation with you. Is the phone caller’s conversation more important just because it is done by telephone?Once upon a time two people could have a conversation without someone butting in by shoving a telephone into the conversation.Cell phones are an intrusion. How many times has your enjoyment of a baseball game been interrupted by the chirp of a radio-telephone or the high-volume blare of a ringtone blasting some semi-melodic tune from some mediocre rock star.Maybe it is good manners that have evaporated rather than technology invading our life. Like anything good, technology, if it is abused, is harmful to our well-being.E-mail has allowed me to send my writings to various outlets across the country. But e-mail also has its downside. I get twice as much junk e-mail as I do legitimate e-mail.I inherited a collection of letters my mother wrote her aunt. In those letters, my mother wrote of everyday happenings, what her children had done (or failed to do), and about a host of other things. Those letters are a treasure trove of history, and a personal connection with my mother.If e-mail had been available in those days that personal history of my mother’s thoughts would not be available to me. Deleted. Gone. No connection with the past.It was once said that the only difference between a professional photographer and an amateur photographer is that the professional photographers has an outstanding bill of $200 at the camera store. Modern digital cameras have made that distinction even narrower. Someone with a $500 digital camera can take a high-quality photo image that would be difficult for the average person to differentiate from the professional using a $2,000 camera and lens.But that same technology can be abused by unscrupulous governmental agents to snoop on our private lives. A deputy with a digital camera can, from a half-mile away, photograph a person having a conversation with a news media reporter about an elected official’s abuse of power. A high-powered microphone can even record the conversation. The ability of law enforcement agents to do the bidding of nefarious politicians can snuff out whistle-blowers.Cell phones now have global positioning system technology that allows the government to know exactly where a particular person is, even if the phone is not being used.High-resolution cameras are now hidden in traffic lights and street lights to spy upon an unsuspecting populace. It is all done in the name of ‘public safety’ and homeland security. It is done to keep us safe from terrorists and criminals. But who is keeping us safe from the government?Would you trust George Bush with this technology? Would you trust Hillary with this technology? Would you trust Sheriff Arnold with this technology? Nobody is safe from technology.Once upon a time there were no such thing as cell phones. And we got along fine. Once upon a time there was no such thing as e-mail. And we got along fine. Once upon a time the government did not spy on law-abiding citizens, and still we felt safe.By George (Orwell), ‘1984’ is alive and well and living in the United States.