Living In History

What a time we're living in!

I came "home" from living abroad for five years. I came "home" during an economic recession. I came "home" and decided to move 2,500 miles across this great, big, beautiful country of ours with only what would fit in my little Hyundai (and that's including my dog!). I came "home" in the 6th year of the Iraq War. But the important part is that I came home.

When I was in elementary school, I studied about American history just as any other good little boy or girl would. I learned about the Revolutionary War and the Emancipation Proclamation. I learned the preamble to the Constitution and the Gettysburg Address. But the really exciting stuff for me was the 1960s Civil Rights Movement and the assassination of JFK. Luckily for me, my parents lived through all of this exciting history. I would run home after class to ask my parents how they felt and what the atmosphere was like during such an amazing time in history, only to be met with,"Hmmm, Holly, I don't really remember."

I was devastated. Unfortunately, my parents weren't political people. Sure, they lived through it. They saw it. They experienced it, but it wasn't their passion. They were too busy finding a way to eke out a living and put some bread and butter (and I do mean this literally) on the table. Yes, they cared, but at the same time, life was just too important.

And here I am. 50 years later, and living in history. Regardless of your political view, one cannot deny the wonderfully exciting and very passionate time in American history. Just last year, we saw a black man take oath to become the first black President. And now a little over a year later, we see this health care bill. This blog is not for me to speak about where I stand politically, but to emphasize the fact the all this heat being generated through the United States is raising the temperature to an amazing notch in history.

And we're LIVING in IT!!! I can't wait until my future children go to school and learn about this time in their history books. Maybe they'll run home to ask me, "Mom, tell me about the atmosphere of the late 2000 decade. What was it like? What did you feel when all this was happening?" And although many moons will have passed to reach this day, I must say that there will be no shadow in my memory. I'm already clipping newspaper articles for this day.

Privacy

Is it possible for humans to keep up with technology? I, for one, was born at the tail end of Generation X. We're the people who like to be told our work is good, and we were the first generation to grow up with computers. My home, unfortunately, was not one of them. I first used WordPerfect when I was in high school, and we were tested on our agility and ability with the shift, alt, F1, etc., keys. As time has passed, I have learned much more about computers, but I am still barely hanging on to the second or third rung on the bottom of the technological ladder.

After reading the New York Times' article, "How Privacy Vanishes Online," I started thinking about the networks I belong to. I have Myspace, Twitter, Skype, MSN Messenger, Google Chat, AOL, and Facebook. What kind of 21st century citizen would I be without 1,000 social networking sites? I even subscribe to Lastfm and Grooveshark. But, really, where is all this information about me going?

Trust me, I'm really not full of myself. I don't think there are hackers out there pounding on their keyboards like orangutans trying to find their way into my measly checking account. However, I've always wanted to know how and why websites like Google and Facebook know which advertisers to display on my searches and profile page.

More and more businesses are "marketing" on these social websites. I tried to "x" an ad which stared at me from the right-hand side of my Facebook profile. I was then asked the question, "Why didn't you like this ad?" Facebook was letting me know that if I gave them feedback about their ads, they would send me more relevant ones. The ominous "THEY" are learning more and more about innocent "me."

One of my international students told me that a stranger asked her for her email address on the street when she first arrived in America. She gave it to him. But she knew that it wasn't right. But when Facebook asks us to give them temporary permission to search our email accounts for our "friends," we sign on without hesitation. My biggest question is not how important our privacy is, but really, "how important is our privacy to others?"