"I am the President of the Internet"

...proclaimed one businessman back in 1995 while trying to explain the internet to a bunch of French investors. Dave Garrison, who probably is the first person to ever declare himself (and be informally recognized) the President of the Internet. Mr. Garrison didn't know much about the internet back in 1995. I too remember when I was in college and rumors had spread across campus that everytime we opened up an image, we would be financially charged for such a drastic action. Remember the words, "How do I go back?" I'm sure you do if you are at 30+ individual like me.
Basically, Mr. Garrison could not explain the concept of the internet to these older French investors because there was, and is, no CEO who owns the internet. As talks continued, Dave Garrison became frustrated trying to explain something in which he didn't even completely understand. Garrison was simply commissioned by Netcom to encourage investors to jump on board with this new 'thing' that would soon take over the world. It was in their best financial interest. Talks continued, the French investors demanded an official CEO, so Dave Garrison suddenly declared himself the President of the Internet. After that, talks resumed. Everyone was calm.
You're probably wondering why a placed a starfish at the top of this post. What does a ridiculous claim of presidency in 1995 have to do with a five-legged creature who slowly crawls along the bottom of the sea eating who knows what? Furthermore, what do these two things have to do with an encycopedia, a piece of software, a phone company, classified ads, and naked people in the Nevada desert. I correctly chose not to use the last one as my blog picture.
Well, to find out you must read a book called, The Starfish and the Spider. The premise is that if you cut off the head of a spider, the spider dies. Correct. But you cut off an arm of a starfish, it grows into another starfish. Tricky.
And now another strange connection. Millions of teenagers (and young adults) across the globe are more powerful, tricky, and starfish-like than major corporations and CEO's. I didn't say they are smarter...just tricky and more sophisticated at times. The 950 million people on the internet right now are more powerful than MGM. A couple of college students years ago proved this when they created Napster, the online music swapping site that MGM destroyed. Yes, the major record labels with high-priced lawyers brought down a couple of computer geeks but MGM made a major mistake. Bringing down Napster resulted in Kazaa (less centralized), and this gave birth to Kazza Lite (even less centralized), and eventually E-mule (completely decentralized). The primary organizations who wanted to destroy all file swapping networks created a monster and to this day no one knows who created E-mule. There is no CEO of Emule, there are no headquarters, there is no one decision maker. Everyone makes their own decision based on the situation and moves together. In this case, outwitting the best and finest.
So what does this have to do with spiritual things. Well, first of all let me say that I believe Christ-followers must examine the world through a different sort of lens. We are supposed to see everything different now. And I believe what happened in 1995 and eventually with E-mule affects the way we process our faith. Just like we were unable to think about God in any other way but a modern way based on Reason. Times have changed and we now live in a post-modern world and, as a result, we are challenged to think of God in entirely new ways. Culture dictates a lot.
Young adults basically rule our world. They dictate and demand change, they drive the economy, and they are changing the church (for good and bad) right before our eyes. So if the average young person doesn't respect (unless he/she has to) a person in charge, or they don't think a person in control is necessary; it tells me that the natural response is for younger America to see more of themselves for salvation and less of God for salvation. And what I mean by salvation is not necessarily about eternal destiny but the type of salvation that creates a person into who he/she is to become. People will find their salvation and hope somewhere and I see a generation who is suspect of anything outside of themselves. The only hope that I see is thousands who have been surprised at the disappointment of the whole thing. Products, networking, and consumerism may build up the false self but in the end do nothing to save. We can only hope that this young, undefinable generation sees this disappointment and eventually discovers that it is possible to turn to a God who actually promises to come and dwell in the self with a power completely other than what they could have expected.