I think my mother would have loved the internet. She loved history and stories and old things. She loved working in our local museum and looking at the artifacts and photos. Yesterday afternoon, thanks to Google and the magic of digitalized books, I spent some time reading about my little home town in a book written in 1876. Yes, mother would have loved that. But there are also things about the internet she would have loathed. Such is the nature of human beings. We can never seem to take a good thing and leave it alone. We have to twist it to serve some darker purpose.
I also use the internet to correspond with genealogists, access the census, communicate with friends, find information, shop. I find myself spending more and more time here at the keyboard. Yet, I have friends who won’t even connect to the internet because of the evil things on it. That’s like saying I won’t go into a book store if they sell Playboy. Or I won’t go to the library if they have objectionable books. Evil people seek out evil. I don’t have the time or inclination to use the internet for pornography. But others do.
You’re wondering about the title of my blog aren’t you? Well, I read recently that if you want your blog to do well it must have titles that reach the search engines. It must contain key words like sex, millionaire, Oprah, or drugs. Google has to be able to find it and readers have to want to read it. A sad commentary on our world. But that’s what happened when television first arrived in our living rooms. I remember hearing that it would educate and inform us about the world. It would bring us wonderful entertainment. It would unite the far corners of the world and bring us closer together. Well, perhaps it has done those things to a degree. It has also brought evil and violence and obscenities into our homes. It has delivered some of the worst “entertainment” I’ve ever seen. And it has encouraged greed, lust, and promiscuity. Why did anyone think the internet would be any different?
If you are reading this I encourage you to continue to use the internet for good, and to encourage your friends to embrace its capabilities. Broaden your horizons by doing some internet research. Use the Google Books search engine, Wikipedia, or one of the many genealogy sites. Read about America on state, county, and city websites. Look up museums and art galleries. Check out your favorite charity or organization. Read about your religious denomination and its origins. Read your favorite newspapers. Communicate with friends. Don’t be discouraged by the evil few who hide in the shadows.
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