No Power Day

By Frederik L. Schodt

I've been reading the Unabomber's manifesto. For those who have already forgotten, "Unabomber" is the name of a deranged American mail-bomb terrorist (hopefully now in jail) who blew up scientists and others for nearly two decades in protest against our industrial civilization. His treatise ― a disturbing essay on the problems of modern industrial society ― is now widely available in bookstores.

I don't agree with the Unabomber at all, but I recently had a chance to reflect on the vulnerability of our technological civilization when the power went off in the western United States, in an area four or five times larger than all of Japan.

The outage was unprecedented in size but not in duration; it only lasted a few hours for most people. For people in airplanes or in elevators or subways, it provided some hair-raising moments, but for most people I suspect it was merely an inconvenience, perhaps a not-so-unwelcome diversion from an otherwise humdrum existence. It was a weekend, so most people were at home relaxing. Luckily, most hospitals had emergency power backups which helped them tide over the blackout without major problems.

Most of all, what the power outage provided was a few hours to contemplate the fragility of modern society and the degree to which we now depend on electricity.

I'm a fairly technological person, who depends on power for a living, so I immediately felt the lack of electricity. My computers and communications devices all went dead, so my room was suddenly quiet, with no humming. If the outage had continued, it would have been a disaster for me, but since it was short-lived, I didn't worry. After all, I knew I could always use the outage as an excuse for being late with this column!

Of course, all my normal entertainment machines went dead, too. The television was out, but I didn't mind because I think television may be the biggest source of cognitive dissonance in the modern world, and I'd rather not watch it, anyway. The stereo was more of a problem; luckily I had a guitar (an acoustic one at that!), so I got it out and made my own music. As long as it was light outside, I didn't feel too inconvenienced, but I started to worry about the food in my refrigerator going bad.

Luckily, the power soon came back on again. I wouldn't want to be without power very long. I owe my modern way of life to modern technology. In fact I would already be dead several times over if not for modern medicine.

But perhaps it's not such a bad thing to have the power go off for short periods every now and then, just so we don't forget what sustains our modern lives. Perhaps we should arrange a special day, once a month or so, when all power is turned off for a few hours. It might not be such a bad thing at all.

ST

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