Evolution of Communication

I might have been the last person I know to get a cell phone. I fought it for years but a few years ago, when Wife upgraded us to the “Family Plan,” she handed me my phone and welcomed me to the family. Now, several phones and upgrades later, it is indispensable to me and I could not imagine life without it. But sometimes I wish I could.

I can remember living in a house with one telephone. This adequately served a family of four. It was on a wall in the kitchen and it belonged to the telephone company. It had a rotary dial.

Local callers could be heard perfectly. Long distance calls (which were very infrequent in my house) were a little scratchy and I can remember my dad hollering into the phone talking to his mother who lived out of town. But, generally speaking, parties on each end could be heard pretty well.

Eventually my parents got a phone in their room. We had really moved up in the world. Then we moved into a two-story house and actually had three phones. At that point we had defnitely arrived. Again, the phones belonged to the phone company.

I don’t remember there ever having to be any repairs made to any of these phones. The phone company never visited our house that I remember, other than for installation. We might have occasionally lost service during a storm but it was quickly restored.

Somewhere along the way the government intervened and broke up Ma Bell. It was about that time that we had to start buying our own phones. They were junk. One would last a couple of years at best and of course, once it broke you had to go replace it. I’m guessing landfills today are full of old, crappy phones.

As technology progressed, so did changes and advances in phones. Push-button keypads replaced rotary dials. Telephones became a part of home décor and Mickey Mouse could just as likely be cradling your ear-and-mouthpiece as the boring black or white nondescript base unit.

Wireless remote technology made it possible to carry the receiver and walk around the house unattached. Answering machines (now called “voice mail”) allowed us to never miss a call and “call waiting” gave us the ability to be rude and stop one call and take another. Eventually – and this one really sent me over the top – we were even able to tell who was calling us when the phone rang, allowing us to pick and choose what calls to take!

Then, of course, cell phones came along. They are great, but how many times do you get cut off in the middle of a conversation? How often do you hear, “I’m losing you” or, “You’re breaking up” when you are talking to someone? (“Can you hear me now?” is the question asked in the popular commercial, mocking the company’s rival carrier. In reality, though, neither is better or worse then the other). This never happened when the phone company owned the phone that resided safely in the house and was wired into the wall.

And of course obtaining cell phone service is like getting a bill through Congress. I long ago had to turn it all over to Wife after it became evident that I would be imprisoned for assault or murder if I had to talk to another representative who tried to help me decide what plan would best meet my needs and lifestyle. For the love of everything holy, all I want is a phone. It does not have to do anything but make and receive calls. It does not have to have a personal ring or be a certain color or anything like that.

And do you think these things are reliable? I could not even begin to tell you how many of them we have replaced in my family of five. We used to get the insurance but decided that was a waste. There are supposed to be warranties on them but of course they don’t apply when phones are dropped. Or immersed in water. Or thrown like a ball. Or slammed up against a locker at school. Or run over by a pickup truck.

Don’t ask.

I have suggested we discontinue home phone or “land line” service at our house since we all have cell phones. Wife disagrees, saying if we have an emergency, the 911 dispatcher might not be able to find us if we call from a cell phone. I guess she is right.

And since the emergency might well be related to my having thrown our cell phones into the street to allow vehicles to run over and crush them, it will probably be a good idea to have another option.

Random Political Musings

I just can’t stay away from politics. I have had a lot of thoughts rumbling around my head in the last few weeks so here goes:

I will probably vote Republican. I’m sure of it, unless something really, really wild happens between now and the election. The reason I will vote McCain-Palin is that I think national security is the number one issue and I think John McCain is best equipped to handle it. I am afraid the Democrats way under-estimate the terrorist threat. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe in a politics-of-fear philosophy, but we have to be realistic. And the reality is they are not going away. The other reason I will vote Republican is that I still believe in as small a government as we can get away with. The Dems still seem to lean toward the big government approach. I am sure they have their reasons but I can’t buy it.

That said, the Republicans must tell me more about how they are going to deal with the economy and health care. John McCain says he is not going to raise taxes and, while I appreciate that, how does he propose to get things stable without it (remember “Read my lips – no new taxes?”)? Obama says to expect a modest tax increase on the wealthy. Frankly, I appreciate that he is being up front about it.

As for health care, the system is broken. I do not know what to do to fix it but one of these people running for president needs to come up with something. How did we get to a system where the insurance companies dictate treatment? And how is it that (some) doctors assume that, because of their lofty education, they are entitled to be millionaires? Is there not some middle ground somewhere? I was having dinner with a surgeon recently and he was lamenting the threat of universal health care. I asked him point-blank, just for the sake of conversation, why he would be so opposed and he said “Because I wouldn’t make as much money.” Sorry, Doc, that doesn’t do it for me.

I like Sarah Palin. I admire her strength, her poise and her grit. It looks like she has done a good job in Alaska, standing up to bullies and special interests, including those in her own party. But is she ready to be president? Can she rise to the occasion? I hope so. This is too important for on-the-job training.

Come to think of it, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter had both been governors before ascending to the presidency. I don’t recall them having a lot of foreign policy experience. Not that they are good examples.

I don’t think anyone can deny that Sarah Palin has been treated unfairly by the media and certain Democratic underlings since McCain announced her as his running mate. It is really comical when you think about it. Feminist organizations like NOW advocate a wide variety of equal rights for women and so do I. But you know it is driving them crazy that a conservative woman is possibly headed for the nation’s second highest office. Have you heard any of the NOW members coming to her defense? The silence you hear is deafening. That’s because they want equal rights for women and they want women in positions of leadership, but not Sarah Palin-type women. In other words, if you’re pro-choice and Democrat, they’re on your side. Anything else, well, you’re on your own.

Can Sarah Palin handle the job of the vice presidency with a family of five children and soon-to-be one grandchild? Hello, are we asking the right questions here? Ever read Proverbs 31? That woman was a wife, a mother, a businesswoman and a servant to the poor, for starters. I don’t know if she did it all at one time. I bet she had a really supportive husband and some good employees but don’t try to tell me she was a fulltime stay-at-home mom. Solomon saw fit to include her in the Book of Proverbs. Can Sarah Palin handle the job of vice-presidency given her current station in life? Please. God created each of us – men and women – with unique gifts and characteristics. If Sarah Palin believes this is her time, even on the heels of having a down syndrome baby and learning that her teenage daughter is pregnant, all I can say is you go girl, and may your husband and children rise up and call you blessed.

I like Barack Obama. I think he is a good guy and I think, much like Bill Clinton, if I were to meet him, we could be friends. I was impressed with his remarks at the Saddleback Civil Forum and I believe he is a committed man of faith. I think he is a good husband and dad and that he truly wants to make a difference, do good things and unite the country. He and I have a fundamental difference of opinion in that he sees the government as the vehicle for doing good and fixing things. I see it as the vehicle for enabling the people to do good and fix things. Too many times, through oppressive laws and taxes, the government stands in our way. But I like Barack Obama and I am praying for him during this election.

Speaking of the Saddleback Forum, I thought it was great. The moderator, Rick Warren, a Southern Baptist who formed his congregation from scratch as an alternative for those who had become disillusioned with church, and who subsequently authored the insanely popular “A Purpose Driven Life,” is not an evangelical cut in the mold of Falwell, Robertson or Dobson. In an appearance on Larry King Live following the forum, he confirmed that he comes down squarely in the middle, which frustrates both the right and the left. He counts both Obama and McCain as friends. Though he is pro-life, he is also equally if not more passionate about social issues such as justice for the oppressed, AIDS and the environment. He is part of a new breed of evangelical that is taking into account the totality of the Gospel message and finding more there than being anti-abortion and pro-family – much more.

As one who has been a part of the evangelical fold for most of my adult life (though I am becoming more and more uncomfortable with the label), I could not be more delighted with Warren’s entry into the faith and politics discussion. I was furious after the September 11 attacks when both Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson said that America had, in essence, gotten what it deserved after years of moral decay. I was equally angered just a few weeks ago when James Dobson picked apart a speech Obama had made some two years earlier, calling into question his faith and his “fruitcake interpretation” of the Scriptures. Falwell never spoke for me and neither do Robertson or Dobson. I have often found their comments to be more divisive than helpful. We owe a debt of gratitude to those like Rick Warren who are bringing about civility not only among Christians, but all those who long for a more civil discussion and analysis of the political process. Something makes me think he took seriously the passage where Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”



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P.S. There are those who might think I have a romantic or unrealistic approach to this. I have read other blogs where the writers are much more critical of the candidates than I, and in many instances, rightfully so. Those folks are probably a lot smarter and informed. I'll give them credit and take into account their opinions. These are just my thoughts to date for what they are worth.