If you're reading this article you have no doubt at least a basic understanding of how we got here in the tech world as well as the culture and community that come with it. Although, there are waves I'll talk about that I've experienced in the IT and Technology realm. Both independent and corporate outfits are having critical lines drawn between camps. Maybe at one time it was over methods and classes, now we have a fork of understanding. Our society will grow together or not at all, marginalizing any number of people is too many. Conscious sustainable advancement is undoubtably coming, but I believe we are the ones to decide how it is or isn't incorporated into our social fabric.
To save time I'll jump right in, the establishment is Pro-War, ready to socialize the losses and privatize the gains. No self respecting engineer or programmer wants their work contributing to the new definition of warfare; unfettered surveillance, indiscriminate killing, political obstinance and propaganda. Still, I see friends and colleagues take offers and contracts that are clearly against their personal convictions. I'm not one to draw lines in the sand, but these are the people red spading and claiming patriotism in the sight of wrong doing.
Let me start the next bit by saying, I'm not against government or the facilities and institutions required for society and it's cities to function. Nor am I the arbiter of business and what should be popular. What I am against is the ability of individuals in power to arbitrarily prioritize the resources of the people. This includes our taxes, our governing laws, domestic rights, and state of security. Albeit, is it just me or is everyone and their mom a security guard nowadays? Not to say it's reached a police state, but a state of high confidence of 'job security' in these occupations.
Let me go for a second on this particular occupation. See I work off the principle, 'A man's value to any company is inverse to the supervision he requires,'. Who is the oversight for security other than people? Obviously if a Security Officer were to break the law, people would notice. But that just socializes the responsibility of making this job valuable in the first place. Which is hard to do when they have no real training or ability to diffuse or engage. I mean what are you securing and from who? What society do you live in? Rant Over.
When I hear individuals saying they want to work for certain parts of our government or certain companies that offer a high watermark for their resume or secure future, I always say 'They would be lucky to have you,' as my friends are very talented and I want to see them succeed. But here's the thing, the best ideas do not always get applied in the best ways, as I stated earlier. TBH I don't actually think these entities are doing our society any good. I won't name any, but we know they exist.
Now we also know viruses are pesky things now, they can crawl up in somewhere and stay there. Often receiving encrypted updates and running as any legitimate cron job or application would. I use this example as a metaphor for our societal system. Our 'viruses', if you will, have acronyms, LLC's and 1-800 numbers. They probably have great insurance too! But is that where we are going to put our focus? In institutions and outfits that have no consideration for the repercussions, only up selling ostensible effects and short selling the consequences. All for a pro-war agenda.
I don't believe we are on any precipice of war, I'm optimistic for the future of technology and it's beneficial applications. I wrote this for anyone who feels the same. Although, just like consumers should vote with their dollars, we as producers of tech have a similar responsibility.
| 🔸Author : A.J. Redpath | 🔶 Title : Schism in the Tech World? |
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