A Different Train of Thought

I am strolling through downtown with my three children. Suddenly , we all stop, turn our heads…and listen. In the distance we hear a soft woooo, woooo. Emily, my three year old, laughs and claps her hands. The sounds of chugging and woooing grew louder as the train clanks into view. Beth, who is less than two, smiles and points as she calls out “Train! Train!”. Big brother Eric, he’s six, hops up and down, barely able to contain his excitement. With a screeeech and a hisssssss, the train comes to a stop. The afternoon commuter to Chicago has just arrived. But by the reaction of my children you would have thought Santa Claus was coming to town.

Kids love trains. I think they find them exciting and wild and full of possibilities. Even adults love trains. My friend Bob starts building his Christmas model train display in November. From Thanksgiving until the second week in January, there is a constant chorus of mini puffs and tiny hoots coming from his basement.

But trains have not always been the darlings of our country. Consider for instance Martin Van Buren, the 8th president of the United States. In 1830, while Van Buren was still Governor of New York, he was part of the anti-train crowd. In a letter to President Andrew Jackson in 1830 Van Buren said the following:

“Dear Mr. President: The canal system of this country is being threatened by a new form of transportation known as ‘railroads’ … As you may well know, Mr. President, ‘railroad’ carriages are pulled at the enormous speed of 15 miles per hour by ‘engines’ which, in addition to endangering life and limb of passengers, roar and snort their way through the countryside, setting fire to crops, scaring the livestock and frightening women and children. The Almighty certainly never intended that people should travel at such breakneck speed.” — Martin Van Buren, Governor of New York, 1830(?).

Lucky for us, Van Buren’s views did not prevail and less than thirty years later one of the greatest events in transportation occurred when the transcontinental railroad connected east with west. We all know what happened next, the presence of the railroad spurred on further westward development and was in large part responsible for rapid growth and our country entered a golden age of transportation.

The thing I find most interesting about Van Buren’s comments isn’t so much what he thought about railroads but more what he thought about RISK. When Van Buren approached this new technology, instead of seeing an opportunity, all he saw was a threat. And to some extent, van Buren was right. The trains did move very fast based on standards of the time. And some crops did catch fire. A few cows and horses as well as some women and children (and perhaps some men) were frightened. These risks were real, not imagined. But in Van Buren’s mind, that ended the debate – trains = bad, discussion over.

Now let’s consider Van Buren’s point of view in today’s context. Many people when speaking of recent advances in communication technology, especially in terms of online social networking sites, text messaging and cellular phones, will point out all of the bad that can happen. Text messaging can lead to accidents if done while driving. A woman was stalked and killed because of information she posted to her Myspace account. An elderly couple lost their life savings as a result of internet identify theft. The conclusion? The new communication technologies and social networking web sites are bad, discussion over.

Yet these technologies have amazing possibilities. Just as the transcontinental railroad connected east with west, communication technologies can connect people throughout the country and throughout the world. And just as the transcontinental railroad energized the expansion of the American West, internet media can energize an expansion of our shared thoughts and ideas.

What I propose to you today is that Van Buren was not anti-railroad, he was anti-risk. And he had a short sighted view of how to approach risk. We need to be careful not to be equally shortsighted when addressing the risk associated with current communication technology. That does not mean we should ignore the risks. Instead, we should identify the risks, confront the risks and take measures to mitigate the risks. Having done that, we can now face and embrace the opportunities that are presented by emerging technologies.

My children clap and cheer when the train roles into town because their young imaginations still allow them to appreciate the wonderful possibilities that come with it. When I look at much of today’s emerging technology, I often feel the same excitement. And while I can understand that caution may be important, I am not willing to accept, as Martin Van Buren did, an all or nothing proposition. Rather, I suggest that we don’t have to turn away from the amazing potential of communication technologies merely because they may pose some risk. Instead, if we acknowledge, confront and mitigate the risks, we can experience the wonder and joy of the children and be open to new possibilities.

Listen carefully, the train whistle is blowing. Are you ready to climb on board?