America As A Brave New World

For three consecutive days, I could not put down Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, and I can now understand why Mrs. Fletcher wanted us to read it last. It really is a lot to take in, and ties up all of the themes having to do with our country's obsession with entertainment. The similarities to Postman and Huxley's arguments are striking, and honestly, both messages have me somewhat concerned. Where is our society headed? A "utopia" constructed of artificially enslaved humans, lack of passion, and a disturbing fixation with our own amusement, as demonstrated by Huxley? George Orwell's 1984 scare has certainly passed America after the Cold War, so what does that leave us with? Our future is uncertain and unpredictable, but if I were to venture a guess, I'd probably agree with both Postman and Huxley's pessimistic predictions. And there's really nothing we can do about it. Our society is spiraling into a world where we forfeit human interaction for technology, and, in a way, isn't social media not so different from the demanding, passionless Society often mentioned in the novel?

I would imagine that the only way to remedy our mistakes would not be to forfeit all technology. Such a thing is virtually impossible in our modern society if one wishes to succeed in their jobs or schoolwork. Instead, we should take some time to disconnect from our computers and smartphones and reconnect with friends and family. Instead of texting a family member, why not call them and just talk, or, better yet, go to see them in person? We, as a society, must find a way to get in touch with our humanity, or our need to physically be with people. If we don't find constant reminders of our love and emotion, we may find America to be just another Brave New World: A utopia for technology and progress, but a dystopia for humans and our core values.