if i can do an emeril and reduce it down to the carmelized goodness, it still comes down to the "we could, but should we" question.

w/ the exception here that you've added multiple dimensions on which to evaluate, *not* (and being a techie, i tend to do this) based purely on savings in time, convenience, automation, etc. the problem here (and one which, implicitly trying to tackle with this whole extrapolative line of thought), is that these side effects, the cultural residue of technological advancement is not always obvious from the outset. and most especially for folks busy looking back, or totally consumed/overwhelmed with day to day livin'. fr'instance, yeah, a visa check card means that i don't have to carry cash around, but it also means that somebody gets the card and can jack my identity (not to mention bank account), and that airy beer run to the local supermarket is now resident in someone's B.A.D. (big-ass database) waiting to be collated and interpolated and God knows what else.

also, there's another key dynamic. often, the impact assessment lags the innovative technology. for instance, those folks who started burning and refining oil (forms of which have been used since biblical times and back into pre-history, probably) in its current form really lacked the science to predict or verify the potential ecological nightmare (pollution, global warming) let alone the secondary and tertiary negatives (cultural shifts and disruptions to the family as a result of the industrial revolution). and other effects (like the excesses and exploitation of the oil barrons) were 'fueled' (forgive the pun) by the new energy sources, but hardly represent a departure from the more exploitive aspects that have characterized western civilization for centuries.

which is why i like these discussions, cuz it will take this kind of deep dive to develop a 'way' of thinking about these things, so that we can anticipate negatives and positives from change, and prepare ourselves accordingly.

and to my unitarian friends, i know that these issues are bigger than just black people, so feel free to build/add-on as you see fit, but coming from a group of people who've had particular things done to us to retard our collective progress, and find ourselves at comparative disadvantage, we have a responsibility to ourselves to look at specific ways to remedy the situation.



peace & blessings,

x.