The most surprising thing is that, in this mass of humanity that walks in chains and under the yoke of a severe master, we are not only observers, but participants as well.

Newsroom (27/11/2021 20:14, Gaudium Press ) Slaves walk with their heads bowed, in chains. Taciturn countenances, expressionless. With bent backs, they seem to carry on their shoulders the weight of ignominy and oppression. Focused only on themselves, they do not even dare to look at their unfortunate companion who walks beside them, handcuffed to the same chain.

One has the impression that by looking at each other they will become aware of their own condition of imprisonment, which perhaps they prefer to ignore, to not see, to not believe, to not question. The chains of oppression are only broken with the determination of the will, and self-will is the first condition that slavery destroys.

Without doubt we are facing a grotesque scene, and with a little exercise of the imagination, we can practically visualize it. Perhaps this description refers to the Jews, taken by Nebuchadnezzar into Babylonian captivity. Or a large contingent of men and women of some African nation, brutally imprisoned, walking towards the dreaded slave ship that will take them to an unknown continent, where they will be traded.

These prisoners may also be warriors defeated in battle, taken as part of the booty of the victorious army, destined to serve as slaves for the rest of their lives. Or perhaps they are a silent line of embittered people who suffered all manner of ill-treatment to which a human being can be subjected in the terrible concentration camps during the Second World War, and who are now being forced towards a gas chamber that will end their lives.

We could list other situations in which this scenario would fit, in different periods of history, and, whatever the circumstances, it would be difficult not to be moved and to feel solidarity with these poor creatures: chained, circumspect, deprived of the greatest gift given by God to man – freedom. Slavery, of whatever kind, is something that will inevitably affect us emotionally.

The surprising thing, my dear friends, is that in this mass of humans which walks in chains, under the yoke of a severe master, we are not only observers, but participants. Yes, I speak of slaves, but I am not in the Ancient Ages, nor am I on a battlefield, in an epic captivity, or in African lands. Nor am I in Auschwitz or Sobibor…

Where are the slaves?

In my field of vision, there are no gladiators nor a Roman arena with hungry lions seeking to devour. Yet everywhere I look, I see prisoners. They are all around us, looking down, not speaking to each other. It is as if they are mute, drawn by the magnetism of an electronic shackle called a mobile phone.

They are in the streets, on the buses, on the trains, and even at the wheels of their cars; driving while listening, reading and answering messages, endangering themselves and other drivers. They are at parties, in schoolyards, at family gatherings and workplaces, in living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and even hospital beds.

We can find them in restaurants, sitting around a bountiful table, whose enjoyment of food is only experienced by the number of ‘likes’ on the photos of the dishes, posted on social networks. No matter the number of people at a table, whether it is a group, a couple of friends or a couple in love, almost invariably, everyone will be on their mobile phones. Together, but separated. Each one is in a world apart, talking to people who are not present and missing the opportunity to relate to the people who are present.

And if someone near them does not have or pick up a mobile phone, they will feel completely isolated; sitting like a lonely island, surrounded distantly on all sides by Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Youtube, and Telegram.

Is technology a problem?

Am I badmouthing technology? Absolutely! But yet, thanks to technology, I can use this channel to write, and you are able to read what I write. Thanks to technology, communications have been streamlined, many jobs can be done from a distance, banking operations have been simplified, and many sources of knowledge have become accessible. What used to take days to solve is now solved with a simple click.

The problem is not technology, but the submissive way in which we subject ourselves to it, by letting it penetrate all areas of our lives, enslaving us, limiting us, and curtailing our freedom.

Today, people know something about everything, but less and less do they know everything about something. The dizzying speed with which information reaches us and follows one piece after another prevents us from retaining it, from fixing on an area of interest and from going deeper.

And what about freedom?

With the dependence we now have on mobile phones, we are reading fewer books, devoting less time to prayer, to healthy fellowship with family and friends, and even to necessary rest.

We are happy to have thousands, if not millions of followers, but we fail to follow the only One who should be followed: Our Lord Jesus Christ, the One Who gave His life to save us. This is because we have no time for Him. We do not have time to go to Church, attend Mass, make a confession, visit a sick person, do a charitable work, be silent, or interact with the real world.

Today, we can have friends and talk to people who live on the other side of the world, but we are incapable of holding a conversation that lasts more than five minutes with a person who is next to us without picking up the blessed mobile phone.

We know everything that happens in the world, but often we do not know what happens in our own homes, in our neighbourhood, and worse, we do not know what happens inside of ourselves, because we do not have the time to be alone.

Many people sleep with their mobile phones on the bedside table and, when they wake up, before thanking God for the gift of another day or saying good morning to those who slept next to them, or even before getting up, they are already looking at their mobile phones to see if any messages have arrived.

So, returning to our initial scene and turning our eyes to the slaves who walk around with their heads down, chained. Taciturn countenances; expressionless. Their backs bent, they appear to carry on their shoulders the weight of ignominy and oppression. And when we look at a picture and remember the “old” fixed telephone sets, we must agree that, really, when the telephone was connected by a physical wire, human beings were so much more free.

By Isa Oliveira

Compiled by Sandra Chisholm