Funfare for the Common Man

“Having lived long, I have experienced many Instances of being oblig'd, by better Information or fuller Consideration, to change Opinions even on important Subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. It is therefore that the older I grow the more apt I am to doubt my own Judgment, and to pay more Respect to the Judgment of others. The Opinions I have had of its Errors, I sacrifice to the Public Good.” (Benjamin Franklin, in his final remarks at the United States Constitutional Convention, 1787) Even though Franklin disagreed with much of the Constitution, he put his full support behind it. He realised in his advanced years, having accumulated over 80 years of wisdom, listening to others with an open mind, and not trusting too much in his own genius, that there were far greater considerations for the fledgling country than merely his own views. Benjamin Franklin is one of his history’s great statesmen. His autobiography is one of the most illuminating and r...

( © The New Yorker , 2019) ‘For all of your life, whenever you’ve had a question you have been able to type that question out on a keyboard, watch it appear in a rectangular space bordered by a corporate logo, and within seconds revel in the flood of potential answers. But I still remember when typewriters were useful, the dawn of the Commodore 64, and days when a song you loved would have its moment on the radio and then disappear into the nothing. For a young man like me, the invention of the Internet was the invention of space travel.’ ( Between the World and Me , Ta-Nehisi Coates) Early in May I wrote yet another one of my doom-laden, fear of the future, technophobia screeds, and asked for reader submissions. Well, here they are. A big thanks to those of my devoted followers who kindly took the time to indulge me and share their thoughts. I am delighted that here I am able to present a mix of views from all over the age spectrum. When I realised that I don’t have any re...