The Century Language Club

So far, the most interesting and enjoyable part of my new life in Rwanda has been my participation with the Century Language Club.  This is a club formed by a group of students at the Minor Seminary where Anne and I are living.  As I mentioned, they meet after lunch and after supper on Mondays and Tuesdays to debate in English, and after lunch on Thursdays and Fridays to debate in French.  At the meeting Monday a team of three students who are preparing to do a Science Fair presentation later this week were to have rehearsed for the club so that we could give them advice as to how to improve their demonstration.  They were not able to present, so the club met to discuss future activities.  One of the activities suggested were to have discussions where an open-ended question is asked and everyone gives his opinion as to the answer.  Another activity would involve having one member give a short presentation, and then the rest of the members would ask him questions. 

Tuesday’s after lunch meeting was of the discussion variety.  The topic was, “What can each of us do to help prevent war and other types of conflict.”  There were some excellent answers!  Among them were: love your neighbor as yourself, value your neighbor, consider every person to be part of your family, recognize that we are all equal, work to ensure that everyone has equal human rights, do not tolerate hateful speech and propaganda such as that used to incite the genocide of Tutsis in 1994 (and the Nazi genocide of Jews in WW2), provide education to everyone, create jobs for everyone who can work.

I missed the Tuesday evening meeting because Anne and I drove to Kigali for an event at the residence of the United States Ambassador to Rwanda.  The event was a party for all of the Americans who have come to Rwanda to help the country develop its health care system.  A number of people from the C.D.C. were there, as well as many of the HRH people, and a several from USAID.  I talked about the Century Language Club to everyone I spoke with there (maybe 30 people total.)  While I often find myself on the edge of a big party like that, I decided to make the effort to introduce myself to many people and engage them in conversation.  Since I had something besides small talk to share, I did feel like I was bored/boring, and I met some very interesting and dear people, all of whom seemed to share my appreciation of the Language Club.

When we returned home this morning, we noticed a line of Rwandan drums standing next to chapel that stands just inside the gate.  This afternoon, as I was typing the above paragraphs, I heard drumming, and went to see what it was.  There were 10 drummers drumming where I had seen the drums this morning. The leader was playing the smallest (highest pitched) drum, setting the beat and demonstrating rhythmic patterns. Much of what I saw them doing appeared to be in what a European or American musician would call 6/8 time.  The most interesting part was when they paused for 17 beats, then, in unison, pounded out 6 1 2 3 4, then rested 19 beats, repeating this sequence eight or ten times, then going into a more insistent pattern in 6/8 for the big ending. During the long rests, they would all beat the air to count time, then all hit the drums at the same time. The drum team appears to have some new members, as I heard a few inconsistencies, but noticed improvement during the course of the practice session.  In any case, as I was once a drummer myself, I greatly enjoyed watching and listening to the drum team.

The power of technology

I wish to respond to these questions which were asked in the Philosophy Forum http://tinyurl.com/yl75lf5, "Is it conceivable to become too technologically advanced? Has the techno-gizmo world evolved too rapidly for its makers? Is there a point where technology does us more harm than good?"

Technology is the embodiment - the practical manifestation - of the power of the human intellect to discover the secrets of nature through scientific investigation and reasoning. The products of technology, including tools, toys and techniques, are the means to augment our power to do many things that we can do without technology: Walking is augmented by riding, driving, and flying. Food production and preparation are augmented and accessorized by a staggering variety of machines and products, from the farm to packaging, to the kitchen and to our bodies. The ability to clean is augmented with a slew of chemical cleaners (some not so safe), rags and mops, disposable or long lasting, and machines that get clothes, dishes, carpets, you name it, clean with ... well, maybe its less work, sometimes.

In a darker vein, imaginative games that children (and adults) can play with things in nature are augmented (often replaced) by electronic games. High-quality, long-lasting products, well presented, are replaced by cheap, mass-produced goods, cleverly advertised. The human ability to kill, destroy, and to force others to obey our will is augmented by the technology of weapons.

What does it mean to say, “the techno-gizmo has world evolved too rapidly for its makers”? What is it about us, the makers and consumers of technology, that needs to catch up? Could it be that money and marketing drive R & D? Could it be that we are influenced in our choices by the technology of advertising, so we spend what we earn on things that we really don't need? And what about those weapons? Could it be that we lack the wisdom and the understanding to pass beyond the need for weapons? Could it be that we do not know ourselves and what is actually good for us well enough to decide what technology is worth developing and worth using?

“With great power comes great responsibility.” Technology is power. What we are behind on is our sense of responsibility, and even our understanding of what it is we are responsible for. A teen uses his newly developing ability to drive by cruising and showing off in potentially dangerous ways. But he or she can mature into a parent who uses a car as transportation to work, to school, to shop, to vacation, etc. Right now we humans are, collectively, acting like that teenager. I pray to God that we will survive long enough to grow up and learn responsibility to our fellow humans and to all of life on earth. We are all connected, and what we do with the power we have learned to wield affects all of us.