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«My life has become impossible!» screamed the telephone. A lady calling in from Pärnu County, voice filled with sheer desperation. Saying she had a €240 pension, yet growing veggies in her garden so she makes it all right. «Never have I been a complainer.» So… what’s the deal?
The lady bemoaned being unable to get things done, not having a computer to communicate through. The phone not being used much, any more – all having answering machines. Over the years, the need for trips to Pärnu has increased; this is turning expensive, as often all will not be settled with a single journey. What are we talking about? All kinds of services, like garbage collection…
Just before the call came in, I had visited – rejoicing – the website of the influential Dutch newspaper Volkskrant, filled with profuse praise for Estonia’s e-State. Enjoying the society of the future – today. Wonderful, I thought, to see e-Estonia’s image affirmed. And then the thought provoking call from Pärnu County.
From time to time we do talk about a gap in this society of ours – rulers having grown distant from the people. However, the real gap seems to be elsewhere. Broadly, people come in three categories: those creating a new world behind computers; those who try to trot along, half-intelligently; and those living rather outside the e-Estonia. The gap between the first two being wide enough. The third being separated by a chasm, nearly impossible to bridge.
A power struggle is on, on global scale: simply put, the frontline lies between those who write the code and those who write the law i.e. web giants versus states. But maybe it’s an illusion, as the opponents may make deals? Later, we will hear of the secret pacts, or maybe our kids will… I hope this is pure conspiracy theory.
The recent US intelligence personal data scandal is only the beginning. Clearly pointing to open world hazards, however. Big Brother or Big Data, for an individual these are equal evils. Yet: with processes like that underway, how do we help the weak? For, paradoxically, here we have a Pärnu County lady, without a computer, having to worry about her garbage collection.
All we can do is hope in those able and willing – to explain it all to us as simply as possible. Journalism still playing a role: defending democratic values threatened by both economic and political pragmatism. All too well do we still remember the situation with zero freedom of speech, with other personal freedoms sadly lacking.