Page 47 - Communications Satellites Global Change Agents

1. SATELLITES AS WORLDWIDE CHANGE AGENTS 23

Others see things differently. These critics look at global entertainment and
media "live via satellite" as decadent Western imperialism or at least as "cultural
and technological imperialism." They see only a "dark" technology. International
satellite transmissions certainly bring to unreceptive audiences such things as
scantily clad bodies, "loose morals," and sophomoric "Baywatch" programming.
Such "Western" TV and movies disturb societies that follow traditional religions
and values. Many perceive this blatant and undiscriminating spread of Western
technology as undermining the family and religious authority. Certainly this over-
powering satellite and media power were clearly seen by the former Taliban rulers
of Afghanistan and the Al Qaida as the "devil" that must be attacked.
In short, there are many—even beyond Osama bin Ladin and his band of ter-
rorists—that see satellites, electronic media, computers, TV, and the Internet as
Western forces of evil. Yet they embrace the same technology to fight those who
violate their belief systems. They see the danger of open and uncontrolled com-
munications.

SATELLITES AT THE INTERSECTION OF EASTERN
AND WESTERN CULTURES

Arthur Clarke likes to tell the story of the elite and "hip" society attending soirees
in New Delhi who say that Hollywood programming is okay for them—the edu-
cated elite—to see, but such fare is inappropriate for the rural population of re-
mote India. They insist the rural poor should not "see things that they do not un-
derstand and would misinterpret." Noblesse Oblige is a natural trait for humans
the world over.
Religious and other critics see "Western technology" and "Western cultural
values" based on scientific rather than religious principles as being increasingly at
odds with traditional systems of belief. This is not new. Yet now in the wake of
the national U.S. calamity of September 11, 2001, the magnitude of the rift has
been exposed. The concerns about the stresses of modernity have been present for
some time, but no one in the West has willingly conceded that advanced technol-
ogy and traditional societal and religious beliefs are indeed in "fundamental con-
flict" in both senses of the word.
In the 19th century, Ralph Waldo Emerson said: "Technology is in the saddle
and rides mankind." However, he was warning about the economic and social
stresses of lost jobs and regimentation in the face of automation and the deperson-
alization of society—not about a cultural invasion of a hostile philosophic, reli-
gious, and cultural thought system. Lewis Mumford and Jacques Ellul (noted ear-
lier) wrote their own warnings in the 1950s and 1960s, albeit in more
contemporary language and concepts. These warnings and concerns, however,
were in terms that could be sorted out in Western thought and even in liberal ver-
sus conservative political terms.