Internet Sophism

I have mentioned the song “(Nothing But) Flowers” by The Talking Heads to a couple of my friends in reference to the artificial and unnecessary role of technological culture to the human condition. You can find the lyrics to the song here, but hearing it is better.

The song is told from the point of view of a person pining away for the old days of Seven-Elevens and chocolate chip cookies in a post-apocalyptic world.

Once there were parking lots
Now it’s a peaceful oasis
you got it, you got it

This was a Pizza Hut
Now it’s all covered with daisies
you got it, you got it

Until recently, I always thought that this song was humorous, but a bit unrealistic – after all, nobody can stop the wheels of progress, nor would they want to.

The highways and cars
Were sacrificed for agriculture
I thought that we’d start over
But I guess I was wrong

No one could be happy in this condition, right? As I have gotten older, I have realized how much of a trap “progress” is. It feeds on itself. We are slaves to it. Can you imagine life without electricity, modern transportation, or plumbing? We answer this by saying that these things have made our lives better. But I just want to ask this question: our lives are better relative to what? Technology has made us frantic, lonely, sick, and massively destructive. What if we started on a false premise to begin with, and are just chasing our tails in search of something else?

And as things fell apart
Nobody paid much attention

This post is dedicated to Pete Gaeta. Dude, where’s your blog?