Although various electronic communication media hold great potential as liberators and democratizers, it is important to remember that in the end, restoring our ability to apprehend the world around us need not depend on any particular technological development.

Our primary assets in this endeavor are at base no different from those of people in ancient societies who began to question, say, the animal and human sacrifices demanded of them by their shamans. What's mainly required is the backbone to claim the right to observe, think, and know for ourselves.

Issues of technological context notwithstanding, we inherently retain the power to opt out of a system of secular mythology that purveys passivity along with its fantasy heroes and basketball sneakers. We can still choose real knowledge, if we want it.

And the power that goes with it.