What would Henry Ford think if he were alive today, with cars that go 200 miles an hour, cars that don’t need gasoline, and cars do not even require a driver?

When Henry Ford first struck upon the idea of using a combustion engine to power the world’s first automobile - which he put together from scrap parts - how little must he have recognized that he was initiating a new dawn for humanity. The car became an instant phenomenon, and the world suddenly became a much smaller place.

Ironically, while the car brought us closer to family and friends in the next town, village or county, it also became a way to insulate ourselves from others. Back in the short recess of man’s humanity, horses were the blue standard in travel and the transportation of goods. Human interaction simply followed the timeless relationship of community, of helping one another and working together for the betterment of all.

With so many advances in our society that are designed to promote freedom and independence, so too have they inadvertently come to promote isolation from one another. Almost everything that one needs or wants can be delivered to one’s front door. Pizza delivery, for example, may be transacted with no human contact; the doorbell rings and the food is left at the door. And to retrace an overworked insight, technology has further alienated us by affording us the chance to communicate through text and emails, not to mention the isolating factor that gaming plays in decreasing our social contact.

It seems to me that that the art of conversation, while not dead, has taken a significant hit in the past 20 or so years. Healthy conversation promotes that missing dimension in the lives of so many of us. To be heard is of crucial importance. As Carl Rogers said, “When I have been listened to and when I have been heard, I am able to re-perceive my world in a new way and to go on.”

Technology is an intrinsic part of our lives and will only continue to grow, given developments with AI, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot seek more balance in our lives. Christians, as do most of the world’s major religions, contend that the human heart longs for blessed union with the Divine. As Catholics we also recognize that we need one another and not just for utilitarian reasons but to return to a brotherhood of man; or, as Mother Theresa said, “We have forgotten that we belong to one another.”


Photo by Noah Silliman on Unsplash