by Treasa Lascola

Created on: September 01, 2009

I must admit that for certain aspects of going paperless, is not just appealing, but most likely a very good idea. There isn't always a reason to keep printed bank statements, or sensitive information lying around and taking up space where a tree still providing oxygen would be more beneficial to all. Not to mention, that its not exactly the most clever security measure. I can remember a time when everyone first kept their passwords written down somewhere near their computer.

Yet, there are plenty of things in this world that warrant something with a more personal touch to it than the digital world can provide. I've got to say that if hand written love letters fall by the wayside and are replaced by emails, that simply scares me to death! The romantic world at large would be done a grave disservice by such a practice. Relationships have enough challenges against them without making them all the more impersonal. Even greeting cards are a little more well meaning when its my birthday, Mother's Day, or special occasion. You wouldn't send someone an email to congratulate them on their wedding day, would you?

There are still enough people in the world that need to hold and see something tangible in their hands to feel assured that something is legitimate. We are a long way off from a perfect technological world in which computers never break down or get things wrong. Current technologies are still run by the human mind working through the human hand, therefore still subject to human error. I shudder to imagine the day when these machines are independently repairing themselves.

Fortunately, technology still requires the human touch, and so it still inherits our mistakes. Like us, in these flaws we can maybe see the divine. In this life, we ultimately learn that perfection is unnatural at best. Making mistakes are how we learn, and plenty of things still need to be worked out on paper before being put into practice. To entrust our entire lives to the digital world would be quite foolish at this point, I must admit, that I can't foresee a need to go paperless completely now or in the future without repercussions. There is simply too much at stake for society to have the rug pulled out from underneath us in one fell swoop. I know that I would be quite heartbroken if we no longer sent handwritten love letters anymore!

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