Taran, you've found and stated all the issues and objections to using churches as telecenters.
Just a few comments. As you point out, religion separates people. And: Schooling separates people. Politics separates people. Tradition separates people. Income separates people. Geography separates people. Language separates people: perhaps we should insist that all who want to cross that divide learn a common language. English? In brief, all of the aspect of that amorphous stuff we call "culture" separates people So: if we are realists, we begin with the world as it is--separated--and not how we would like to remake it in our own image of what a better world would be like.. That is: if those now on the wrong side of the digital divide are already separated, and we care about doing something substantial about that divide, we can denounce the separation, propose new institutional forms of togetherness (which in short order will also separate people), or we can begin by recognizing these islands of separation and asking how we can work with them so as to make a difference.. That is: we work with schools, although they separate people into those groups that can pay tuition and those that can't. We put public computers in libraries, although libraries--and computers--separate people into those that can read and those that can't, and tend to put resources like computers where they benefit the readers and leave the nonreaders untouched. We put computers into churches, and hope (some of us) that we can use those computers to begin to encourage interfaith dialog as well as economic development. I do want to challenge your reliance on an Ayn Randian version of the human condition: <<In the end, I really think that the Digital Divide can only be bridged > by individuals acting in their own interest - taking ownership of their > lives. When it comes to infrastructural issues, governments are > responsible - but in any democracy, ultimately the individual is > responsible. This is actually Randian in a way, but I think it's > respectful>> To be equally direct: it is this crude philosophy of every man or woman for himself/herself that is the problem, not the solution. There is much dying in Africa from AIDS, to pick one social problem where computers and churches can make a difference, and the dying will not stop by urging a kind of crude capitalist ideal of selfishness. The genius of the computer is that it is the first dialogic medium in history, unlike the broadcast media such as television. The computer makes it possible for people in Trinidad to converse easily with people in California, so that they become a group, a potential collaborative. You and I are separated: by age, experience, education, nationality, perhaps race and religion, or nonreligion. We can't wait until those cultural differences are set aside to begin to search for ways to work together. I appreciate your willingness to take clear and strong positions: that willingness makes for good challenge and response.. Steve Eskow [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Taran Rampersad" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Steve Eskow" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "The Digital Divide Network discussion group" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2005 1:06 PM Subject: Re: [DDN] Re: The digital divide and the idea of "public computing" > Steve Eskow wrote: > > >Taran, > > > >You've clearly described one technical outworking of the idea of "public > >computing." > > > >There was an influential book some years ago titled IDEAS HAVE CONSEQUENCES. > > > > > I shall have to find this book and read it. > > >We need technical outworkings of the idea of public computing such as you > >propose. > > > >Perhaps we need separate attention to how we get attention and support for > >the "idea" of public, rather than private and personal, computing. > > > >To pick a controversial example: > > > >I go to Ghana on March 9 . Everywhere in Ghana, and Africa in general, > >religion is exploding. Churches and mosques springing up everywhere, with > >clergy and congregations committed to public service as well as to faith. > > > > > No puns intended, I'm sure. > > >These churches often have connections to world networks of their > >denomination; many of the churches in the richer countries provide support > >of various kinds for the emerging churches in the "Third World." > > > >If those churches could be influenced to see themselves as part of the > >answer to the "digital divide," we might find computers and training and > >software and maintenance installed in little churches in the "Third World." > > > >The larger question becomes: how do we get churches, and schools, and > >libraries, and NGO's to see that they have a role in shrinking the digital > >divide, and becoming the scene of public computing? > > > Sorry about the long response. This is a topic I have actually thought > about quite a bit. I don't think I wrote anything offensive (it's hard > to tell on religious topics), so if I did, please understand that it was > not intentional. Now that I have your attention... > > This is a tough topic, mainly because many religions - or better, many > followers of religions - don't 'play well with' other religions. A look > at the latest headlines in any part of the world confirms this. > > Using religious pretexts bothers me because of this. What happens if I > live in a country where - for the sake of discussion - Paganism is the > State religion (official or otherwise, does it really matter?) and I'm a > Hindu. Must I become a Pagan to pull myself onto the other side of the > Digital Divide? I cringe at the thought that people would even think of > giving up their personal beliefs to simply get enough inductive kick to > get to the other side of the Digital Divide. I'm a strong advocate for > perseverance of culture and identity of the individual. > > Of course, that might be an interesting thing to look at - teledensity > and religion. But what all of this does is it separates people. It's bad > enough that there are enough denominations of major religions, where > wars have been waged over differences of opinion of interpretation. > > Now, what might be nice is if the various religions in an area can bite > their tongues in a geographic area long enough to get to know each > other. And if the people of all these religions can get along and build > something for the greater community, such that even an atheist would > feel comfortable in going there, then we might have something. Sadly, I > believe that this is unrealistic. I have lots of personal anecdotes on > this, but none life threatening (knock on wood). There are parts of the > world where even being a different religion is very similar to being a > part of a different gang. > > On the flip side, community centers could be operated with funding from > various religious institutions as long as they don't consider the land > 'Holy'. > > In the end, I really think that the Digital Divide can only be bridged > by individuals acting in their own interest - taking ownership of their > lives. When it comes to infrastructural issues, governments are > responsible - but in any democracy, ultimately the individual is > responsible. This is actually Randian in a way, but I think it's > respectful. The Digital Divide has individual context for each one of us > - from expensive Wi-Fi in Parisian hotels to not even having access in > parts of Africa. One of the things that has struck me in my latest > travels is bandwidth; in Trinidad and Tobago I paid about $100 US/month > for a phone and 256 ADSL (which is very undependable, shame on the > government monopoly). On the flip side, I stayed at a Howard Johnson in > Hialaea, Miami, and had more bandwidth than I could shake a stick at. I > am writing this using my mother's Verizon DSL, and it still amazes me at > how fast stuff happens. > > When I get back to the Caribbean next week, I shall be very > disappointed. But it's that disappointment that drives - we have to > strive to expect more in many parts of the world. Where 256K ADSL is > crappy in Trinidad and Tobago, nobody has effectively voiced the > problems there. They just live with it, and even the leaders in ICT from > the region don't publicly expect better from the governmental monopoly. > 5 years of promises about the privatization of the telecommunications > industry will stretch into 6, maybe even 10, because people just don't > expect anything better. I think that this paralysis is one of the > greatest problems of the Digital Divide, and I think anyone who thinks > that they are a leader should be vociferous about such things. This > easily translates to rural communities or ghettos in the developed world. > > Schools? Yes, I would agree. And yet, not in the present academic > system. The Digital Divide's answer will probably be very expensive > through this avenue; schools have not kept pace with things as one would > have hoped. More money would be funneled into more books, computers, > buildings, administration - but the most valuable parts of schools will > probably continue to be neglected: Students & Teachers, and the curriculum. > > Personally, I just try to make a difference wherever I am. If it means > administering last rites to a IBM OS/2 system that was bought for $25 > (which I did 2 days ago), to putting Mozilla and OpenOffice.org on my > mother's computer, to simply going to a Suncoast LUG meeting. > > Technology is just a tool. The real problem of the Digital Divide isn't > technology as much as it is use of technology in an appropriate manner > which increases the quality of life. Giving a farmer in an obscure part > of the world an internet connection isn't going to feed him or her. It's > the social interaction and imaginative use of technology that will help > that farmer to create a better way of life. > > Telecenters in many guises are already in existence. Schools. Coffee > Shops. Even 'LAN parties' where people bring their computers and connect > them in a local network to play games is a Telecenter. A family > telecenter exists when there is only one computer in a household. It's a > *part* of the whole, and that part doesn't define the whole. When it > comes to churches and schools, I think that certain parts have become > dominant and attempt to define the whole. That's a personal observation; > an opinion. > > I think we can do better than use institutions that segregate. I think > what we really need are the common ground areas; and if chuches and > schools can be adapted to that purpose, then maybe they would serve > their own purposes better as well as serve the community in bridging the > Digital Divide. But if they don't, we'll have increased segregation and > even more little groups that are on the wrong end of the Digital Divide. > > -- > Taran Rampersad > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > http://www.linuxgazette.com > http://www.a42.com > http://www.knowprose.com > http://www.easylum.net > > "Criticize by creating." — Michelangelo > > _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
