The Not So Crazy Neil Postman

    I ended my last post on Technopoly by Neil Postman in wonder of how Postman would prefer the American society to be and it is roughly stated in the second half of his book; this, of course,is not presented until Postman states a few more things on how technology has taken over American culture. To briefly summarize these things, I believe that the image of the "tail wagging the dog" (pg. 142) drawn by Postman is a good introduction. Basically, Postman believes that technology is the tail in this analogy and the dog is the human race. For instance, Postman lists a slew of medical statistics which show that American doctors are using medical technologies more often and rigorously than other countries in Europe including England, France and Germany. It is then explained by Postman that this is due to the American character that is "so congenial to the sovereignty of technology" (pg. 95). Postman believes that technological innovations are not synonymous with human progress because the traditions of humans and our mental and physical skills are "lost by our immersion in a computer culture"(pg.122). Other things like images of Christ and symbols of nationalism are considered by Postman to be "diminished in importance"(pg. 166) by technology because the availability and mass print of these things "drains it of its symbolic value"(pg. 166). In the end however, Postman seems to acknowledge that his objective is to raise enough awareness of the dangers of Technopoly and to get people to resist the dangerous outcomes of technology which he so generously devotes his book to listing.
     The shock effect that Postman wanted in his writing is there but it is obvious that Postman is not just a crazy ranting man. It is Technopoly's last chapter which saves Neil Postman from being the most narrow minded King Thamus which he proclaims himself to be. Postman states that resistors of American Technopoly "admire technological ingenuity but do not think it represents the highest possible form of human achievement"(pg. 184). And so, it is fair to assume that Postman would not appose to the reading of Computers:The Life Story of a Technology by Eric Swedin and David Ferro because it not only highlights humanity's technological achievements in the field of computers but also other achievements like numbers and counting methods.
    Postman's overall goal in my opinion is sane and achievable. To remind and teach the human race about "The philosophies of science, of history, of language, of technology and of religion"(pg. 199)  is to make society rich in it's knowledge of human culture; a culture which does not revolve around technology. However, I still believe that to call America a Technopoly is a general and biased opinion. I understand that Postman has written this book to mainly reach out to people who are immersed in technological advancements, but I am convinced that there is a population of Americans, however small that ratio may be when compared to technophiles, who share Niel Postman's appreciation for morality and philosophy among other human abilities.