When some kind of disaster occurs, if there is a video available there will inevitably be a lot of people in the scene with cell phones recording whatever is happening. In any gathering of people anywhere in the world, there are many in the crowd who are face-down into that little portal, their lifeline to (or their escape from) a world gone absolutely bonkers. The insanity of the moment is lost for them – their minds are far away, engaged with whatever distraction (and there are countless distractions) they have chosen. Our world has become consumed with etherness (I know it’s not a word, but it sort of describes this phenomenon).

When you’re shopping at the local Walmart you’ll invariably come across more and more people who have consciously chosen to give mind to whoever or whatever is inside that cellphone. It’s an obvious distraction in that they invariably make unexpected moves, and other people can’t see or hear what’s going on with them so it’s difficult to anticipate where they’re going or what they’re going to do. Maybe they’re making a vet appointment. Maybe they’re up to no good, we’ll never know. All we know is they’re not paying attention to the flow of customers around them and make unexpected moves, or they just stop in the middle of the aisle where no one can get around them as they blissfully chat with their spouse who is sitting in the lazy boy at home and has no idea of the aggravation this is causing. They become absolutely unaware of the world they are physically in and that goes for talking on the phone while driving.

Almost everyone believes they are masters of multitasking at the level of driving and talking on the phone (and don’t even get me started on texting). Problem is, very few of them actually are. Nevertheless, they all think they are perfectly safe rattling away on the phone at 70 miles an hour, but that’s a mistake; often a grievous mistake. Sometimes drivers are just a split-second decision or one glance into the rearview mirror away from either their own death or someone else’s. Situational awareness is grossly diminished when you’re on the phone, regardless of how good you are at multitasking. Tens of thousands of people are killed on the highways of this country every year because someone thought they were good at this kind of multitasking and didn’t realize they weren’t until it was too late (and quite likely not even then).

The cell phone has made our lives easier in too many ways to enumerate, and there’s no argument about that, but at the same time, they have introduced unintended and often detrimental issues, most of which we don’t even consider. I’m as guilty as the next guy about this, but don’t you get a panicky feeling when you’re on the road and realize you’ve left your phone at the house? Millions of kids today spend as much thought and effort in making sure they have their charging cord with them on trips, making sure they have the latest version of the latest app – as we once did in making sure we had a road map or extra underwear for the trip. Seems like our kids are exceedingly susceptible to the addiction of cell phones.

I’m an old geezer now, but for the first 50 years or so of my life, we didn’t even have cell phones – and the world turned just like it does now. We had house phones in our day, but in my family’s case, we were on a “party line”. There were several residences (if I remember correctly, our line had ten residences on it) in the neighborhood who all shared a common phone line, so there were a series of combinations of short rings and long rings, each set of rings were for a given house. The problem with that was that no matter who the call was actually for, everybody on the line picked up anyway. The big difference in knowing which combination of rings were for your house or someone else’s, was that if it was your house’s ring, you didn’t have to cup your hand over the mouthpiece. There were some few folks without any appetite for gossip who didn’t eavesdrop, but as a rule everyone in the neighborhood knew at the same time that Sally down the road was pregnant and it might not be her husband’s baby. In such a situation, you could start some really juicy rumors too, and as kids we did for fun.

Cell phones have proven to be one of the most valuable methods the authorities have for tracking suspects, and that is always a mixed blessing, because no one knows who the suspect might be nor what they did wrong – the fear is that they might have done nothing wrong, and the ethernet doesn’t discriminate. There were cases reported in Afghanistan, for instance, of people being killed by drones simply because they used a cell phone and could be electronically detected and targeted – with no evidence that they were enemy combatants – if this was the case, it was cold-blooded murder, plain and simple, just because they lived in Afghanistan and had the audacity to use a cell phone.

Cell phones have helped people when they record something like police brutality, but it’s a risky proposition to be seen filming an armed lawman who knows he’s going to get in trouble if your footage is made available. Phones are useful for documenting many things that someone would not want to be witnessed, but they are also handy when there is a big natural disaster or something. There were/are several videos of the World Trade Center and Pentagon disasters on 9/11 that revealed that things happened that punched big holes in the official narrative, and undoubtedly many more that have not been made public. For instance, what if someone came forward (and was miraculously not “suicided”) with a clear video showing what actually hit the pentagon and it turned out to be a missile or something and not a plane at all? In short, law enforcement and shady government entities risk getting nailed more often now that everyone has a video/ tape recorder handy in their phones.

Cell phones have made a tremendous impact on society worldwide, and there are those who would argue, but I believe the jury is still out on whether or not are worth the benefits they bring. As a whole people, we have accepted them if no more than simply because of the conveniences they make available, but as with anything that appears to be a blessing, there comes a curse, and all would be pragmatic to understand the implications. The Israeli government used phones and pagers which had been loaded with explosives for a memorable terrorist attack in Lebanon – several people were killed including folks who weren’t associated with the enemies. Can we be sure the phones we carry so intimately on our persons aren’t rigged with explosives, or must we trust (as with certain vaccines), that our government has our best interests in mind? If you carry a phone, they know where you are (and despite the fourth amendment, they also know what you are saying)! You can be dispatched at any instant. The cell phone can be seen as a wonderful tool in modern society – or it can be seen as a prolific and deadly weapon in the hands of the enemies of humanity.

Think about that.

May the blessings of the Almighty Father find and keep us.

MK