THERE IS NO PERPETUAL PARENT.

The current controversies over censorship by Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have made something clear: Our developed societies operate on information technology platforms. Commercial and governmental services are becoming increasingly digital.

We have gained some efficiency, from a personal perspective. Many situations which were torturous because of our reliance on clerks or bureaucrats have become simple matters of point and click. The obvious downside is the anonymity of those behind the digital counters of our transactions. Anonymity enables clerks and bureaucrats to do a bad job with less accountability. They may also be overwhelmed by the increasing needs of burgeoning urban populations. 

The Universe has balance, despite the claims of those who would prefer to see it as purely chaotic. One of the time-tested pillars of Buddhist thought is the acceptance of this balance.

Thirty years ago I was involved with Japanese Buddhism while I worked as a nurse with dying AIDS patients in Manhattan. The emotional and physical devastation of AIDS on my patients and myself would have been unbearable for me without the influence of Buddhist philosophy. The simple acknowledgment that great evil (destruction) and great good (creation) are in constant interplay in The Universe was the foundation of my daily progress through that time.

Buddhism, as I admire it most, is ancient philosophy, not dogma or ritual. But I no longer need the influence of Buddhism to see the interplay of good and evil in our existence.

The source of both good and evil in our human context is intention, in my opinion. Our actions and speech simply belie our intentions, whether or not those intentions are tied to consciousness. The best social etiquette can conceal the worst intentions, but those intentions will eventually reveal themselves in actions. Conversely, the rudest and crudest among us often have the best intentions, as revealed by their actions.

This depth of human understanding cannot yet be digitized. It is too nuanced, too individual, too time consuming. It is part of the wisdom of age in some human beings.

Our real guardians, those with the best interests of humankind at heart, cannot easily be found in corporate board rooms. But they are becoming the new clergy of this technological and materialistic age. Their dogma entails controlling human population for their profit. They are false protectors.

Governments have ceded much of their roles as our guardians to these globally minded capitalists. Part of that surrender appears to be associated with the willingness of politicians to yield to those with corporate and technological power. The EU-Brexit debacle is partly a battle between global corporate/technological power and local cultural identity.

Police forces in developed countries have retreated behind software. The human propensity for cowardice has been enabled by technology on our streets. Street crime in some societies has diminished due to technological advances which have served as deterrents: Cameras, DNA analysis, etc.. However, the retreat of the police into cars and behind screens in some cities, like Chicago and London, has emboldened gang members and led to increased individual attacks.

Real guardians of the U.S. southern border are demonized by corporate media in favor or the corporate and small-scale demand for farm/domestic labor slaves, undocumented and trafficked human beings. Our elected U.S. President is slandered as a racist for trying to guard our national integrity by those who exploit immigrant communities for political support in the name of globalism.

Our U.S. military-industrial complex is a dominating and invasive juggernaut for protecting our corporate interests abroad, but is praised by corporate media on the level of daily militaristic propaganda as a guardian of freedom and democracy. Our volunteer military force is a form of exploitation of the lower-income members of American society, who otherwise cannot afford exorbitant tuitions for education or qualify for jobs with any career advancement. The high suicide rate of our military veterans speaks to that exploitation.

We are rapidly being reduced to guarding ourselves individually against all the evils in our world. The alienation which accompanies information technology is itself something we must constantly guard against if we do not wish to become crushed under the wheels of corporate capitalism. We are constantly encouraged to choose whether to be run over by those wheels or to jump onto the monster they propel. Falling behind or simply signing out are increasingly dangerous options.

Those who feel most threatened in this atmosphere of alienation are likely to join an identity mob. This trend is quite evident in social media, especially in the area of politics. Rather than developing the individual strength and skill to guard themselves individually, they turn to an ideological pack. Well meaning yellow-ribbon (1980's), red-ribbon (1990's) and pink-ribbon (2000's) identifiers have morphed into black-uniformed symbols of violent anarchy in American and European cities. 

Mobs of angry and insecure individuals do not guard. They tend to attack. Their aggression is their defense. 

Social and political institutions are rapidly outgrowing an individual human scale, despite technology. The current rate of population growth and migration will only make this worse. The pressure on the individual to cope without faith in government systems is increasing. 

Some look to collectivist ideologies for the answers to the stress of this human trajectory. A case could be made that the P.R.C. (China) is the inevitable model of a functioning overpopulated world. But is it really? The P.R.C. is currently expanding its influence globally to compensate for its lack of sufficient internal resources to serve its population. Its vast land mass cannot sustain its population. Where will all humanity expand for resources if its entire home planet cannot sustain its numbers? 

Two generations in the developed West have been raised in exceptional prosperity and relative peace. Neither that prosperity nor that peace has proven particularly useful in the individual development of those who have learned to take it for granted. In fact, the opposite seems to have occurred. Selfishness, laziness and a sense of being an entitled victim are epidemic here in the U.S. today. 

I can choose to be my own guardian and provider. If I am adept at being my own guardian, I can then be able to lend my strength and watchfulness to my immediate environment, and perhaps beyond. How do I become my own guardian? Well, in an age of information technology which is still relatively open, I can access information on health, law, social dynamics, politics, etc.. In other words, I can guard myself by educating myself and implementing that education in my life. Ultimately, learning to parent oneself positively is the transition from childhood to functional adulthood.