Brokaw, speaking at the dawn of the internet age, warned against the fantasy that technology would solve America's deepest problems. He acknowledged the 'dazzling assortment of new tools' — cable television, satellites, cell phones, faxes, personal computers — but cautioned that without thoughtful application, the cyber revolution would be 'the cyberspace equivalent of a teenage joyride — reckless and pointless.' His sharpest point was about race. 'We may be color blind as we surf the net,' he said, 'but alas, on the street, in the workplace, in our homes and social life, we — more than we care to acknowledge — see life through a prism of pigmentation.' The single-sentence metaphor captured the gap between technological optimism and social reality. No software update could address what Brokaw called 'the most vexing issue in American life.'