As has been well noted, just as the printing press changed the way information was disseminated in the Middle Ages which launched massive change and initiated processes of more generalised education and expansion of accessibility to literature and the written news in general, the Internet has opened up the world’s stage so people get to know what’s going on in other hemispheres.
The printing press initiated something of a quantum leap in its moment just as the Internet did, especially combined with the mobile phone – in itself a liberator to migrant workers everywhere. The societies of the human being, so widespread across the earth, had significant exchanges beyond that of traders passing through and between cities with their tales of other places, exciting enough as that was. With that latter effect, the human imagination was stimulated and more people were drawn to travel and thus a widening of people’s horizons and awareness resulted.
Mostly, the change was gradual, it is those sudden eruptions that can gain credence as revolutionary moments though, where, over a short time great changes were instigated. Sadly, they often instigated large scale violence such as the repression by the Catholic Church.
Even further back in hoary time when family units began amalgamating into family groups then entire societies, this change of consciousness where the other played an increasing important role advanced the possibilities of survival, despite that the ‘other societies’ that existed were still outside the circle of security and were seen as competitors. This problem plagues us all today and is still an active ingredient in daily life both local and international. However, there is no doubt co-operation enhances survival.
Social media has the potential to level the playing field and that despite the monopolies, those of the money, the power, the land and property ownership, and even monopolies of the media! This latter is where the common man and women, armed with the means of mass and immediate communication, can instigate rapid change in situations. From the humanist point of view, this means the possibility to highlight injustice, introduce beneficial channels of action, bring people together in solidarity, without relying on mainstream media at all and in fact far beyond that to ignore completely what is propagated in the major information streams owned and controlled by private enterprise with its for-profit agenda and those less than benign governments that seek to control their populations for questionable ends.
In every instance where people power was generated, given that the energy let loose was not transformed into violence, positive, life enhancing changes took place – think any people power success from Philippines ousting Marcus to the Berlin Wall, to Tunisia. Also, when Mao took power in China, in the first moments the military personal were true revolutionaries and acted warm heartedly toward the people – a people’s army.
Uniting people, giving good direction, allowing constant feedback so the few do not dominate proceedings, these are the merits resulting from a connected society with the electronic means that is so apparent today everywhere.
All the trite and superficially novel appliances and services that by quick observation may appear without real worth are a breeding ground of a virtual culture that impacts everyone everywhere and while things are running on ordinary day-to-day lines nothing extra-ordinary is seen but given a ‘break’, a disharmonious social disruption, influences can be brought into play in a manner not hitherto possible explicitly because of social media.
This is why the battle for control or lack of it over the Internet is an important one – and everyone in power and with the knowledge, knows it, and the mass who are really part of it do not yet realise its great value. In general the common man or woman has nothing to lose – simply because they do not own a home or land, or a fulfilling job whereas the rich and famous want to hang on to everything they have and are assiduous about its protection – they will not voluntarily give it up and fight tooth and nail to protect whatever they have accumulated.
We see today an ever increasing role played by non-violence and pretensions at non-violence in more and more protests. The takeover of parliament in Taiwan recently which ended very nicely with the students handing back the government premises in an orderly manner was a case in point. Each side restrained themselves – that would not have happened a couple of decades ago. What has changed? People’s understanding has changed. What was once theory has been put into practice and the media shows the difference, violent actions vs non-violent action.
A humanist revolution is based on non-violence, non-violent change. The message of humanism – Humanist the Earth – which is largely ignored by mainstream media with its ‘other interests’ is carried along the pathways of non-violence and is indeed incorporated into the very path itself as an integral part of the message. Social media has emerged as the means because straight media fails when it comes to universality having being bought out by the institutional factions, political or business.
Nowadays we have a growing demand for regional answers rather than centralised state solutions that never solved the problems. Decentralisation is another like-term and big governments do not want those centripetal forces to disintegrate their holdings, whether the United States of America or China! But these scale-down tendencies are of the time and to work against them generates friction, and violence from centralised government. They send the troops in!
With ordinary people constantly interchanging information and points of view and doing so minute-by-minute and keeping in perpetual communication and relying more on their own sources that they have learnt to trust rather than the official channels the grand response to conflict is unpredictable, at least by the would-be controlling authorities.
It is not just social media alone that makes the difference it is the human culture associated with it and that gives it context that makes the difference – the humanising factor which is quite visible these days. Yes we get news about disasters in far away places and that can be distressing despite it not otherwise touching us personally but the news penetrates and affects us. It can make us fearful but also forces us to open up even if we do not like it. All the more reason to put our own house in order!
The threat of nuclear catastrophe is well understood, if its importance is suppressed because ‘what can I do about it’ is an over-riding sense. This breeds a sense of futility. This makes an individual feel helpless, and despondent. Thus false solutions, false roads, are travelled – the silly fantasy parties with all of their accompaniments.
The innocent activities of connection via social media intervenes into that almost closed psychological condition. People involve themselves in small acts of interchange – “like’ a Facebook comment; share a photo of breakfast; sent a Twit of whereabouts now; place an album of pics on-line; start a What’sUp group among pals.
And on a more practical note a domestic helper far from home calls mum or husband overcoming her isolation; a South East Asia fisherman asks what price fish are bringing in the different local markets and gets a better price; a budding journalist takes a snap of a situation of conflict and sends it worldwide to open up that affair; a street activist organises a group for instant messaging as to where the action is so pals can gather!
In all of this an awareness is built because it’s not just data exchange, it is information that is acted upon and thus experience is gained and with experience comes understanding and that brings a comprehension of total situations – wisdom grows.
Whereas education today is a business and is geared to an industrial age that is being surpassed as automation comes in and unions are left floundering as they too have not been able to ‘grasp the nettle’, also, as profits are sought before anything else many workers are left disenchanted and without security because the new laws give full rights to corporations and none to workers, just as property rights are given to owners and tenant’s rights are left aside. All this is further complicated by the privatisation phenomenon!
Social media allows people-to-people conversations to take place on an ever-more grander scale and that is the remedy against isolation and fragmentation of people and societies and that’s why the money building all the related technology is now looking askance as to whence what they built is doing to their own empires.
The humanist revolution we are speaking of is not something initiated by a ‘humanist group’ as per an organisation, or even an intentional network of persons calling themselves humanists. It is the moment people take power and change everything that went before and it may not be so sudden, like overnight, but it will be very clear. It is a process, with a beginning, an intermediate stage, and no particularised end. Thus the moebus strip as symbol of the Humanist Movement – the human being, unto infinity.
