Joseph L. Kagle, Jr. Rotary Essays

Enslaved by our Tools

The cave man found fire, created the wheel and mythology, carved stone and invented other tools to help our species survive. Our tools are just” our tools,” no more, no less. They make life livable. Today, sometimes, our tools are our masters. That is not livable; that is slavery. For us to find peace in the 21^st century, we must become masters of our tools and use them to make life again more livable so that our spirit survives, as well as our bodies. 

Whether the car, computer or TV, we remain at their mercy. This observation started innocently enough. My wife asked, "Do you have the keys?" I was in one of those moods where a simple answer just wasn't in my nature. I said, "No, the keys have me." That did it. Much of that day, the next and into that week all I could think about was all the things in daily life that "had" us in their grasp. 

At one time I did not have a computer to type my emails to those who I knew around the world. I had a typewriter who had me. Before that, I wrote out my thoughts longhand and then passed them over to my secretary who had me until she was finished. Now, it is e-mail. I check it in the morning, the afternoon, the evening after dinner, and if I get up in the middle of the night, I check in to my master again. It has me good. Writing letters seems like something of the past. Even then I had to have a certain pencil or pen. Of course, I do write at times and then fax the pages to some unseen source. The fax has me, too. 

It is not enough that my computer, fax and e-mail have me. Now, I need a scanner. Of course, without all this, I have (or it has me) my office away from my home office: Kinkos or Postnet. They know me by name. They have me because they own my time and knowledge when I pass over some gem that just must be done "now." Time has me, too. It has us all. My Toyota is in the repair shop today. They have me. The house owns me more than I own the house. Just ask the bank who holds the mortgage, having sway over a cut of the Social Security check that I now get from the government since I retired to be free from others having my time. The government really has me. The income tax deadline is coming up. Anyone who does not believe that the government does not "have" us is cheating on his or her tax returns. My dog and cat own me. I take them out or leave them out when they want to go. Little things have me too in this modern world: a lock when it will not open. The garage door when I press the automatic button to summon its services. Sometimes the door goes up; sometimes not. Electricians and plumbers have me. The morning newspaper controls my first hour of being awake. The telephone! Now don't start me about the telephone. Even when I am not at home the an­swering machine has a message that I just can't miss. Those unwanted calls in the evening have me, those that start with, "Joe, it is wonderful catching you at home. We have a deal that you just can't refuse." The television (when on) has me. When my mind is tired, I watch anything, falling asleep in the "have-me" easy chair to the soft sounds of murder, love, Chinese news broadcasts (in Chinese), sports of any kind, commercials, talk shows, "sit corns" and cartoons. And then there is the addiction to the Internet. Rotary Global History Fellowship has me good. But there, at least, I know that I have a choice to serve, to listen, to reply, to communicate. Yes, RGHF has me good. Maybe that is why I serve as President. It certainly is not ego (which can have any of us).

My bed has me a third of my life. The bathroom has its time too. So does the stationary bike. It has me for 30-45 minutes each day. The craze for health has me. At least my wife and I do not have each other.  We share each other. I think that is why I am married to Rotary Global History Fellowship. It is like a Mormon marriage where one has multiple partners. "To have or have not" is the question. Some times during the day, a simple question like "Do you have the keys to the car?" is more complex when you begin to think about who has what and when.  

Dealing with other Rotarians, I am, at least, who I am, a name, a person, a fellow human being who believes in service. Oh yes, service has me too! Long ago, I learned the secret, though. It is to "un-have.”  For years, I collected works of art until I began to realize some of them owned me. To “un-have” is the secret of living today. Therefore the next time you go to that “have you” high school reunion or Rotary Convention (which I hope all of you think of attending in Montreal), take the wrong name tag for one day, for one moment of one day. Un-have yourself! The tools of technology that has the world today are the cell phone and the computer (where I am working right now). They are not tools sometimes, but masters. It is part of the arm, ear and mind of its “so-called owner.” It is the Frankenstein of my age and I, sadly to say, am Mary Shelley, losing a battle to this new monster of science. That is…except when I have a chance to communicate with you; then it is ‘the mistress of my household’. How do you ‘un-have’ yourself and serve others?