Riots of Beauty Against the Machine

Fight! Fight! Fight!

As I review my most popular posts on Substack, I instantly notice that the two most popular themes are reflections on the beauty of creation and pieces in which I comment on and criticize the use of technology and vehicles, i.e. living “in the machine.”

While many other writers on Substack focus primarily on what it means to live in the machine, the Beauty of Simple Things initially appears to be of a lighter nature. My focus so far has been to write about the things that stir up my heart and which I want to share with others. However, though “the machine” isn't featured in the name of my Substack and though it's not the primary category of my writings, I still consider all that I write as adding to the voice crying against the dictatorship of the machine.

Now what is the machine? Many distractions and evils in our world can fall under the categorization of “the machine.” It is a force not simply of technology but also of ideology. Like characters in a dystopian novel, each of our daily tasks are interwoven with machines that “help” us by removing the messiness of toil, effort, and mistake. However, for the purpose of this post, I consider “the machine” to cover three basic tools used in our everyday life, namely vehicles, smartphones, and the internet. Every single one of us now lives defined by these three contexts. Every single one of us are slaves to these dominating forces within our lives. And so even though my Substack dwells primarily upon beauty, spiritual reflections, or pondering simple things, everything I write and experience each day is colored by the shades of the machine.

You and I are not immune to the chains that bind us to these devices. And so, in this world where everything is bound up in the machine, process, and speed, all that we do to live a simple life of reflection upon the beauty of God's creation is in opposition to the machine. The small act of going for an evening walk without your cell phone is tantamount to taking to the streets to riot. While a simple walk is not destructive or publicly recognized by the masses, this one small action ripples outward in the world, coloring the lives of your community.

We fight the machine when we pause.

Hit the brakes. Turn off the car.

Pause that video. Close the laptop.

Silence your phone. Leave it at home.

If you’re feeling brave, go further, be extreme! Take the leap and completely ditch the devices that deprive you of salvation.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

May our chants and shouts be hymns of praise and joyful laughter filling warm homes in the evening dusk. May our banners of rebellion be simple words and kind phrases and holding doors open for strangers.

The time may come when we must leave the comfort of our homes to fight for truth and beauty not as walkers, but as soldiers. In the meantime, let us not become complacent as we wait. Fighters must have a cause to fight for. In the darkness of the fray, the goodness of a simple life ignites our sense of justice. We must keep the spark of home aflame within our hearts. The clouds are gathering, the darkness looms, but rebels sing in the shadows.

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I know the utter irony of what it means to try to break free. I am 50% aspiring luddite and 50% excited software tester happy to explore any new software application and find hidden bugs in the code. Even the simplest, most disconnected among us still live within the machine. We may cast aside our smartphones, choose walking over driving, or dream of moving far into the woods but the machine bears down upon us, entangling itself in every aspect of our lives. For proof of this, one has only to step within a restaurant and be confronted with QR codes in place of menus and punny signs relaying that you are at a cashless establishment. Even those writers who fight most valiantly against the machine use the machine to further their fight. Here I am, whispering these rebellious words to you amidst the chaos of your email inbox. But we must not give up.

This may be The Beauty of Simple Things, but dear reader, you and I are in the machine. Let’s join the fight with simple riots of pausing. Let’s keep the spark of beauty burning bright.