[whitecrow]

I think it is not a question of "if" but "when." It doesn't have to be a conspiracy. A country with an aging, inefficient infrastructure, that has foolishly squandered its resources, will experience the power going out. But yes, I do believe they will bit-by-bit continue the process of disconnecting us.

When the power goes down for the final time, all digital information will be lost. Very little is kept on paper anymore. Bank records, insurance records, documents of all kinds, poetry, digital artworks, all will vanish. People of the future may think we were appallingly ignorant.

I know I will never forget the greatest gift of the Internet. For the first time in history, people from all over the world could communicate with each other in real time. The Internet provides a virtual set of communities where people talk, argue, inform, inspire, and even fall in love. We have seen first-hand the universality of human spirit. We know that we are all alike in so many more ways than we differ.

The Internet allows information to spread around the world in minutes instead of months. It is almost impossible to overstate the impact this has had. The "Truth Movement" would not exist without it. The current spiritual awakening which is the occasion of this forum's existence and that of countless websites and newsgroups, has been shaped by the Internet.

This is significant, for this movement is not unlike the "Great Awakening" of the 1830s and 1840s. At that time the movement was almost entirely religious. News spread slow, and in that case was spread mostly by itinerant preachers and evangelists. This is when tent revivals really became popular. Millions and millions of people daily expected the return of Jesus Christ. When it did not occur - that is, when nothing happened that anyone was able to perceive as the return of Jesus Christ - life slowly went back to normal, and a new cynicism entered the religious scene.

This movement of the 1840s gave rise to the various Adventist denominations, and also helped lead the way to the eclectic spirituality of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

So we live in very significant times, and the Internet is one of the main things that makes these times so very vital and interesting. Mankind has NEVER possessed a tool like the Internet. I believe this is one of the reasons the Web is so cluttered up with foolishness - ridiculous opinions, pornography, all kinds of nonsense - the PTB must keep it well-seeded with distractions to keep us from using it to its full potential.

We won't have this tool forever. I do believe that some version of it will return. Or it may be that the power really will not go off completely and that we will continue to have intermittent access at least, for a very long time. I do believe that we'll see a major and permanent power-down, with everything that implies.

Balance. Gotta have it. We can't spend our lives at the computer anyway. Our butts only get wider and our bellies flabbier sitting here. Not to mention the carpal tunnel stuff going on (grapeseed extract!)...so as always I call for people to walk outside and apply what they've learned.

The Internet is historic. It will end one day. What matters is what we do with the gifts it gave us.