Machines of "Loving Grace"

     As a culture, the people of post-industrialized countries are inundated with technology and are expected to believe that these advances are only for the best.  Richard Brautigan, in his poem “All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace”, he poses the question of whether or not technology is a blessing or a curse, and gives his answer.  Although at first glance it may seem as though he supports technology through the soft imagery he is presenting, in reality, he is giving a critique on the social structure that has arisen as a consequence to the spike in technological advances. 
     In each stanza, Brautigan offers images of nature to soften his message of technology, creating the illusion that technology and nature may coincide peacefully.  By juxtaposing nature and technology, he creates a universe were “mammals and computers/ live together in mutually/programming harmony” (lines 4-6), pointing out that there should be a happy balance, or ‘harmony’, among the unnatural machine and the natural environment.  He mentions “cybernetic meadows” (line 3), “cybernetic forests” (line 11), and “cybernetic ecology” to further push the two unrelated ideas together and create a strong connection between the contradicting ideas.  He furthers his analysis of technology by comparing the harmony he wishes to achieve by likening it to “pure water/ touching clear sky” (lines 7-8).  The scenes created through imagery are a sharp contrast to the idea of technology, providing the idea that he may be in favor of technology if it brings harmony between humans and nature.
     But, a close examination proves otherwise.  Each stanza has a line in parenthesis, imitating the urgency and impatient nature that has resulted from using technology: “I like to think (and/ the sooner the better!)”(lines 1-2) … “I like to think/ (right now, please!)” (lines 9-10) … “I like to think/ (it has to be!)” (lines 17-18).  These lines add to the sarcastic tone Brautigan displays through his poem, aided by the images of nature contrasted against the images of technology.  He continues his anti-technological argument by giving reference to being “watched over/ by machines of loving grace” (lines 24-25), which is reminiscent of Big Brother in the Cold War when people of the time were afraid of being watched by a machine and having their every actions reported to the government.  With this hidden image of communism taking over the last stanza, it is very clear that Brautigan is anti-technology.
     Through imagery and irony, Brautigan shows his disgust of the advances of technology.  Although he is interweaving soft images of nature with images of technology, it is ironic he compares the two because technology actually takes individuals away from experiencing nature first hand and allows them through the technology he is critiquing.