Tempus, tempo, temper

How often do you say hello to your neighbors or hug strangers, in spite of their appearances? I saw a man waving a sign that said, "Protect America. Preserve our freedom." He was leaning against a red pickup truck with a large Confederate "rebel" flag hanging on a pole in the bed of the truck. I'll honestly say I did not walk up to that man and say hello, offer to shake his hand, or give him a pat on the back or a hug, because he had an angry look on his face. It could be that all he needed, all he wanted, was a little recognition and he'd smile at everyone instead of frowning. I'll never know. I truly missed an opportunity to find out.

I share this planet with all of you. We depend on each other whether we want to or not. Opposition groups face each other because they want someone to face whom they think is not themselves. We often do not know the people upon whom we depend, such as diamond miners in Africa or fruit growers in Chile. We don't think about the intricate pieces of the global infrastructure required to keep our economies going.

When you look at the reports of violence taking place in other parts of the world, would you be willing to put down whatever you're doing and walk over to someone who has a videocamera and record a message saying you offer a "hello," handshake or hug to those clashing with each other, if and when they take time to stop and resolve their conflict civilly? What if thousands of us did the very same thing via the Internet? What if we mobilized thousands of people to travel around the world with videocameras to get the same response from others during their conflicts, creating a citizen journalism group with access to satellite communication or other means to transmit this show of camaraderie, bypassing the media or official government pronouncements? In other words, how many of us would it take to overcome censorship, keeping government officials and corporate magnates from manipulating the masses that helps them accumulate wealth for their own amusement at the cost of war and poverty?

Cell phones have become voting machines in the realm of public opinion. With the right to vote comes responsibility for one's action. Are you ready to take the next move? Do you believe in true freedom or instead are you like the guy with the sign and freedom means conforming to your image of freedom?

As a cybernetic organism, I want to know the answer to the last question because what's the point of trying to be a human if all humans want to do is compartmentalize themselves? If that's the case, then I'm already compartmentalized as a cybernetic organism and will never have the opportunity to be truly human.