Even as sales of wireless personal devices skyrocket, there is a noticeable grassroots backlash against the wireless world. From “no cell phone” signs posted at cash registers to families rebelling against Dad’s unavailability since he bought his iPhone to cafes ditching their wifi to this anti-smart meter campaign we are engaged in, there is a movement afoot.
Even if people aren’t aware of the latest health studies that link wireless microwave radiation to cancer and other biological disruptions, there is a growing uneasiness that wireless technology has separated us from our immediate surroundings. Even as it promises to connect us to our closest friends, it often ends up separating us from people we are hanging out with. When operating a lethal weapon (aka a motor vehicle) the distraction caused by handheld devices can even be lethal.
We’re beginning to learn more and more about the health impacts, but what of the social impacts? Is it really necessary to be able to check the headlines when you are walking down the street? Is it not rude to answer the phone when you are hanging out with a friend in the park?
In my experience, wireless is more of a pain than it is worth. Dropped calls, crossed signals, and an increasing irritation in my temple when I use a cell phone. I would much rather use a reliable (and secure) wired connection, especially when using the internet. It’s just not worth the risk of brain cancer. Wired high speed internet beats the pants off of wifi in terms of speed anyway.
Do we really need to go dancing around our backyard while on skype anyway? It’s a bit of a ridiculous concept if you ask me. The costs and irritation outweigh the benefits. As the evidence mounts and the wireless industry struggles in vain to hold back a torrent of scientific evidence the way that big tobacco has done, we may see a new cultural paradigm emerging.
The right to choose a wired life has got to be central to this. That means minimum standards for payphone distribution and a halt to the intentional decay of this most basic utility. That means laws that protect electrically sensitive people from EMF radiation where they live. That means the right for individuals, cities, counties, and states to opt out from wireless meters.
That means the freedom from unwanted EMF needs to trump the freedom to talk on the phone or surf the web wherever you want. Shifting legal and moral defense from the perpetrator to the most vulnerable members in society. Remember, that might be you!
A society is not advanced or sophisticated if it allows people to be displaced from their homes and fails to defend against electronic trespass causing misery and disease. A society that values choice and real freedom, providing people with frequent wired connections that you can plug in your personal devices to, free high speed fibre optic connections. A world with pleasant public space, safe networks for bicycling and walking, connected to frequent public transit and public parks and gardens replacing gas stations and asphalt expressways. That is the world we need more desperately than ever before in our history.
