Aung Zaw Min

April 23, 2013

3^rd Draft of Essay #2

The More Unsafe Thing

In the 18^th Century, when the first automobile was invented, some strong conservative old men were very angry to take or drive it. They thought that it was a serious sin by taking a moving thing without horses. Some of them cried for fear to take it when they were forced into it. Also, a few centuries earlier, people believed that an abyss was at the edge of the ocean. Therefore, no one dared to sail very far from the land.

 Although those are very funny things today, those happened really. Sometime, people used to scare their own invention. Similarly, whenever I've heard that some of my American friends feel unsafe in their living style, some of them are too much worried about the disadvantages of modern technology, and they deterred their children to use the Internet at all.  I have nothing to argue against their concern. The only thing I would like to focus is that I just want to tell them; the dark is more unsafe.

I remember clearly the first time I watched a television was 1976 when I was 8 years old, at the 200^th anniversary of American Independence ceremony held by the American Embassy in a public hall in front of our high school. At that time, there was no television and TV broadcasting station in Burma. That television of American Independence ceremony was the first television I had ever seen in my life, and then I had to wait for almost 10 years to watch my own television.
            Since 1962, our country was under the military dictatorship of a so-called Socialist Government. They cut off us from the world. We got our television center in 1983. In the early years of the '80s, we had only a few TVs in our township, I remember that people were going to the township administration office to watch the news, sports and entertainment programs.

            Despite a handful of people, such as the authorities and the rich, people were too difficult to own a television till nearly a decade later. Yet those a few televisions could bring the world-famous programs, such as little house on the Prairie, Rich man Poor man, Wise Guy, Starsky and Hutch, etc. However, in that way, we could see the differences between the world and the closed society we were living in.

            After about 10 years, in 1988 the people in the whole country arose to protest against the dictatorship. Even though our revolution was the earliest uprising in the world against the leftism ruling at that time, it failed because of another military coup. And the new dictators announced that they were changing toward Democracy and the Marketing Economy System.
            During those past 25 years under the military dictatorship so called the Government preparing for Democracy, they opened the market, but under control of a few people. About 1992, we could use our first mobile phones, but not for everyone.
            If someone wanted to use a mobile phone or a cable phone, he or she would need to apply to the Department of the Ministry of Communication. The authorities who were the former military officers selected the person who should use from the thousands of the applicants. If someone was selected, he or she would have to meet that very tense authority in person and be examined by him, and then, he or she would need to pay about $ 1500(one thousand and five hundreds US dollar) for that permission not included the charge of sim card and also hand set. It was official payment, but the Ministry of Communication officially announced that it was just hiring, not sale. Any phone which the people hired by them could be rejected and withdrawn according to the reasonable situation, it meant that if they suspected that someone used his or her phone for the political activities or the government's banned information, they could banish it forever.

            Believe it or not; In Burma, we used to pay over $ 3000 to $ 4500 (three thousands to four thousands and five hundreds US dollar) to get a mobile phone in the black market. Those exorbitant prices really occurred until 2010.
            Even though we had got to use internet, the connection speed was too slow to use. We never could watch a video file on line, sometime we had to wait a whole day to download a picture. The dictators were very afraid of the people got a chance to connect to the outside world. Thus, they not only blocked the communication in that way but also declared a law so called an Electronic Act, that is, if someone used internet to download or upload deterrent information and documents against the government, he or she would be punished 20 years in prison. So many bloggers were arrested by that law. However, they are showing the some changes to the world today, the connection speed is still slow and also the Electronic Act is still alive today in Burma.

            Although all the prices of the mobile phones in Burma today dropped off, people still cannot watch any YouTube movies, any video files broadcasting on line and sometimes cannot open any website.
           In contrast, in United States, almost everywhere, every time, internet can be available very smoothly. I watch movies from Netflix, watch news from CNN, read articles from USA Today, make shopping Amazon, write on my Facebook and blog, and study on the education websites such as Coursera, edx, Udacity and Open Yale Courses. The world best professors are lecturing on those websites free for everyone. Those are really free to attend, that is, no background education needs. Whoever it is, he or she can attend if he or she is interested, even if it is the Games Theory.
            As for me, I am studying the courses of the Modern World History lectured by Professor Philip Zelikow of the University of Virginia, Foundation of Business Strategy by Professor Micheal J. Lenox of the University of Virginia, and also the Justice by Professor Micheal Sandal of the University of Harvard. All are video lectures and sometimes they're used to make a direct conference with the thousands of students all over the world.
            Anyone who owns a computer and an internet connection anywhere of the world can attend in those education programs. Indeed, it is really for anyone, except some remain behind the dark like Burmese people. When I had written about those things on my blog and Facebook, the young people in Burma were moaning for their loss.
            In here, United States, almost everything I need is nearly completed by the Internet. And I also found a lot of porn websites and games. But how many times a person want to watch those things? Is it daily? Maybe like some of my American friends’ worry, even though those things are really threatening our children and living style unsafe, making downsides of education; I believe that it is safer than the dark. I can say that the dark is more unsafe.
            Let me borrow some words from The Lexus and The Olive tree by Thomas Friedman, the technology is like the tomorrow rising sun, it will be growing on. We cannot run from it. Even though we can face the disadvantages, we have to solve and go on.  We have no choice, only things to get a better world is facing the problems, taking the advantages, and going on forward. 

Remember the 18^th century old men. Remember the rising sun. There is no abyss at the edge of the ocean. Never forget the people remaining in the dark expecting eagerly the light, and find a way to light them up by using your technology.