#NoTeaForMe Or if Revolutionary War Patriots had smartphones

Paul had been waiting.

When the notification came, he pulled out his phone in its leather case and frantically typed into the chat titled “Militia.” The message was short, “The British are coming.” With a final tap of his finger, he added two lantern emojis to the end of his message. As he pressed send, the warning spread to all the militia units.

Paul rolled over and went back to sleep.

So that isn’t how the poem or real story goes.

Instead, Paul Revere had to saddle up his horse, ride through the night, and arrange to hang two lanterns in the steeple of the Old North Church.

Contrary to the poem written by Longfellow decades later, Paul Revere was not the only rider on this important night in pre-Revolutionary War history. Many people — including a sixteen-year-old girl who rode twice as far as Revere — spread the word that the British were coming. This warning allowed American militia to mobilize, prepare, and prevent an early British victory when the war started mere hours later.

If modern technology had existed, one can only imagine how other things might have changed. People would have posed for selfies with the floating tea in the Boston Harbor, hashtags like #LibertyOrDeath #NoTeaForMe and #13Free might have populated screens, and, if Thomas Jefferson had used AI, our Declaration of Independence might have started like this “Sometimes a group of people needs to separate from another group. When that happens, they should explain their reasons clearly so others understand why they’re doing it” instead of like this, ” When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”

Let’s all be glad Thomas Jefferson opted not to use AI.

As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, it’s amazing to see just how much has changed. We’ve gone from a man who had to saddle a horse and hang lanterns to pretty much instantaneous communication.

The evolution didn’t happen overnight.

A fast rider was the best available option of that night. It would be decades before the telegraph was invented and it became possible to send short messages over long distances at a previously unknown speed. As telegrams charged by the word, sending a message was expensive, and people adopted a sort of shorthand.

Much like texters do.

Telephones were next to shake up communication. While they made communication easier, they also made it less private. Many people were on “party lines,” which basically meant anyone else who shared the line could pick up the phone and listen in.

Much like people on social media might carry on a less-than-friendly chat in a comments section. These arguments would probably have been better done in private offline or at least in private messages.

While these and other inventions have made communication easier, it wasn’t completely easy or immediate. Even with email, one had to be by a computer and checking to receive the letter.

When the smartphone was invented, communication became truly almost instantaneous — as long as one has access to the network.

Now, people are more likely to go off-grid to find some peace and quiet.

Maybe by taking a long ride on a horse.

Only probably not shouting that the British are coming.

Happy 250th Birthday, America!

Happy 4th of July! Wishing you and your loved ones a safe and happy holiday.

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