As computer people with a technology business, my husband and my conversations often go into technology coexisting with humanity. We believe that humanity has the same responsibility of morality within technology, or more so, than in any other aspect of life, especially as technology becomes so much a part of who we are. We are influenced and guided by technology. Today, with telework and online school, as well as our contact with friends and family held only on social media, we are practically falling in the matrix sequence of 1s and 0s. Yet the machine itself is not moral or immoral, it is the onus of humanity to maintain moral function…and then loop that function.

Binary! The great foundation of all computing! The 1s and 0s in sequence put the phone in your hand, allows your house to talk to you, and even drives your car. 1s and 0s, two sides, the push and pull of a knob, switch, or transistor. The simplicity of computing creation. The 1s and 0s that run machines. The fancy machines. The dazzling machines. But just machines. What is binary code except two sides going back and forth in reaction to each other. Simple, easy, non-threatening.

But we are not binary, we are humans, and humans are more complex than a machine. We have emotions, reactions, and beliefs. We cannot be labeled as simply a 1 or a 0. We are full individuals with flesh and depth. And yet here we are asked every day, every week, and every election year to choose 1 or 0. But to be human is more than that, right?

With all the complexity of each and every issue that makes up even one docket or one budget meeting, it has to be deeper than just a side. But we are still asked to choose a 1 or a 0. Take immigration: in practicality, it is foolish to add more into the suffering, in-debt economy. Yet in morality, immigration is the foundation of the American belief system. Both are important, but which one is more important? What about gun laws? Is it actually the right of the government to alter an inalienable right to protect a few? That is the argument, but what is the cost? Lives, money, power, everything has a cost. We are all willing to pay a price, but a different price, and for different reasons. Some of us want security no matter what, some of us want freedom regardless, and most of us weigh each option based on available knowledge and personal needs.

And today as the quarantine has reached a point of decision. Do we allow the virus to infect our citizens or do we allow the quarantine to kill our economy? And we are asked like a machine, choose 1 or 0. And yet we are not a machine. We love our citizens AND we love our economy. I thought this crisis would bring us together, but as I read the news the giant ax of discernment is swinging down at a faster rate. The fighting, the protesting, the social media shaming, the bashing among friends, and more turmoil in families. We are asked now more than ever to choose a 1 or a 0. But we are not a car, a phone, a profile, or a side. We are not a machine! We are not The machine!

When a preacher friend of mine was disrespected on social media for a bipartisan viewpoint recently I knew we needed to step back and defrag immediately. Our windows have gotten dirty with technical immorality and social disrespect. Respecting a person does not take away from your point of view. The person behind the profile, the person behind the photo, the person even behind the ideology, deserves respect. They are not a republican or a democrat, but a human. The moment we accept that is the moment we become a moral society. Respect is the answer to fight The machine.

If we allow ourselves to see people too simply, hacksawing them down to a stereotypical formula of a political view, then I suggest we click our heels and hail homage to Hitler himself for allowing a lazy mind to fall into the propaganda trap of one specific following. We do not need a side to be heard, our intelligence and credibility can emerge from a deeper consideration for people as full and capable members of society.

Do you hear it? That clicking noise is The machine asking you to choose a 1 or a 0. And like HAL in the 2001 Space Odyssey, it will turn on us as it gains power. The best way to control the population is to turn it against itself. It is an understood phenomenon by all who seek power. Every time you fight a person on the “other” side you are adding power to The machine.

[Off] and [On] is a control switch. Are you in control?

Melanie Winter

Melanie is the Director of Marketing and Content Writer for WinternetWeb Technologies.

Melanie writes content for clients to promote marketing and branding in her web development business. She also writes for a blog and local community history projects and publications. She earned a Bachelors from Virginia Tech in Communications, English, and Religion. Melanie also enjoys writing fiction, spending time with her two daughters, antiquing, gardening, and community volunteering.