It was reported that the security services in the United States have asked Barack Obama to refrain from using his Blackberry device. They say that it is difficult to secure the communications that are sent from a handheld and that it could therefore be a security risk. Many of us are very concerned for the safety of the President-Elect, especially those of us who are members of a minority group and have been subjected to hatred from bigots and know how virulent and irrational that hatred can get. Nonetheless, it seems that Barack Obama has not yet decided to cede to this request of the security services and part with his Blackberry device.
This is something that I sympathize with. For many years I fought the urge to buy a device that would allow me to receive email on the go. Finally about a year ago I gave in and have been addicted to my Blackberry ever since. It allows me to stay in constant communication with friends, colleagues and associates and it allows me to do work even while standing in line at the grocery store. My mobile devices allow me to be more communicative and more efficient with my time.
For example I am writing this column on my trusty laptop aboard a JetBlue flight to New York City. When I arrive in New York I will connect to a WiFi network and email the column to my editor and within a few hours it will be available to the world.
However, the entire concept of being constantly in communication is somewhat controversial. Many people see mobile communication devices as an intrusion into what could otherwise be private time. My response is that this is only true if one allows it to occur. The great thing about these devices is that you can ignore them or switch them off. It must be we who are in control of them and not the other way around.
But mobile communication devices have an even deeper benefit for us humans. Judaism sees our ability to communicate with others using language as the defining attribute that makes us uniquely human. The torah says that we were born to toil. And the Talmud (Sanhedrin 99b) sees verbal and written communication as an advance form of work that can be especially creative.
Effective communication can have massive consequences both positive and negative. Barack Obama himself has demonstrated this fact over the last couple of years in an amazing manner. For most of human history communicating to those beyond our immediate circle was a slow and often costly exercise. Because of this the ability to be use language in a manner that was most creative and effective was very limited. Now this has all changed. Each of us has the ability to use this higher form of creativity to its full effect.
This, however, also comes with a responsibility. We must ensure that we use this power of mass creativity in a positive manner, to help others and not to hurt them, to inspire people to achieve great things rather than for nefarious purposes. The constant ability to have a positive creative influence is truly one of the blessings of our age and we must continue to take full advantage of it for good. In this sense getting rid of a Blackberry is a step backward that should be avoided especially for those who have mastered the ability to have a positive effect through communicating with others.
Rabbi Levi Brackman’s latest book Jewish Wisdom for Business Success: Lesson from the Torah and Other Jewish Texts (AMACOM, 2008) was just excerpted in Harper’s Magazine.