You Are Less Than Human

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.
--Albert Einstein

I had a conversation yesterday with a good friend about the direction our country and our world are headed in. We discussed technology and the part it plays in the acceleration and direction of said world. The conversation gave voice to some concerns that have been growing in my mind and, when combined with a spiritual perspective, concerns I find troubling from a social/societal standpoint.

As a technology worker, I spend the better part of my working (and much too much of my non-working) life online. I sometimes wonder at the point of pushing pixels around all day, although I have seen great things come of and from the internet. I watch a lot of the nature and tone of the conversations that take place, and see that technology is definitely a catalyst. But, to what effect?

On the internet, it is easy to flock with those who are "flocking" in the same direction we are. On the internet, it is easy to reinforce our stereotypes (even of ourselves). On the internet, it is easy to take that "other-ization" that comes so easily in our minds and lives, and amplify it until it drowns out everything and everyone who isn't rocking to the same tune we are.

On the internet, it is easy to treat anyone who disagrees with us as less than human...
Less than worthy...
Less than us.

"HOW could THEY think THAT...?"
"HOW could THEY believe THAT...?"
"WHO do THEY think THEY are...?"

And implied in all of this is:

"I am right, and I would never do...(fill in the blank)"
"I know more than they do, and I am superior to them because...(fill in the blank)"
"I can't stand them and I have the right to feel superior because...(fill in the blank)"

In the process, we reinforce and reify our "I" until it is a solid chunk of granite, anchoring and weighing down every thought, feeling, and experience we have. We build granite walls and box ourselves in with them.

When we meditate and work with bodhicitta, that work helps break down that separation between us and others. The wall of "identity", that concrete, permanent 'I' that we have worked so long to build, is deconstructed brick by brick (and sometimes particle by particle). Our heart opens, like a lotus emerging from the mud, reaching toward the sun and fresh air.

And then we take our lotus online...

The internet is what we make of it. We can use the technology-facilitated communication to widen or narrow the gulf and separation. The key, I think, is being mindful in communication.

I'll leave with a few verses from Shantideva's Bodhicaryavatara:

...
114. Just as the hands and the like are cherished because they are members of the body, why are the embodied beings not cherished in the same way, for they are the members of the world?
...
117. Therefore, just as you protect yourself from even minor disparagement, cultivate a spirit of protection and a spirit of compassion toward the world.