The Machine Looms
E. M. Forster's Prophetic View into Machine Culture
by Arthur W. Hunt III
Samuel Morse probably thought he was only being witty when he tapped out the first telegraph message in 1844: "What . . . hath . . . God . . . wrought?" He must have known that he was obliterating time and space forever for the human race; otherwise, he would not have claimed, as he did, that what he was doing amounted to creating "an enormous brain of nerves" that would unite the country into one big neighborhood.
A poem was even written to celebrate his efforts. "The Victory" declared, "We are one!" Then the Civil War broke out.
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Arthur W. Hunt III is a former professor of public speaking at the University of Tennesse at Martin. He is now preparing to transition to ministry-related service and lives in the greater Memphis area.
more on culture from the online archives
18.2—March 2005
On Conservatism as Vexation, Vanity & Near Impossibility by Graeme Hunter
19.4—May 2006
The Culture War Is Between Religious Believers on Both Sides by Howard P. Kainz
31.6—November/December 2018
Victimhood Culture Scapegoats Its Very Source by Michael P. Foley
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more from the online archives
24.6—Nov/Dec 2011
on the Tyranny of Modern Freedom versus the Freedom of Jesus by Gillis J. Harp
18.10—December 2005
on an Apostle’s Encounter with the Son’s Children by Anthony Esolen
