What's in a Word
Guy T. Sturino
September 23, 2005
The dictionary says that to be civilized is to be in an advanced stage of social development, and to be polite and good-mannered. But, the dictionary also says that to be barbarous is to be exceedingly cruel, primitive and uncivilized. These definitions lead to a paradox. Every one of us has seen evidence of some truly barbarous leaders who can be polite and good-mannered, and if you look closely at those leaders’ interactions in their immediate community you might rightly decide that they are in an advanced stage of social development.
Consider the war in Iraq simply as an example of current values based on our definitions. Is it not barbarous, with its cruelly dispassionate killing of more than 100,000 civilians? Is it not a barbarous state of mind that allows many people to ignore the innocent dead civilians? Yet everyone who is directly involved in these acts, and those accepting the death of innocents without so much as a hint of concern, fit the accepted dictionary definition of civilized. Something is obviously wrong with this picture.
What is wrong is that our language allows us, in fact it encourages us, to deceive ourselves. Our definitions allow us to be proudly civilized while committing acts of meanness and cruelty which are patently barbarous. There is obvious need for a better definition in order to think clearly about what we see and feel. If the world is viewed as the place where humanity lives, any workable definition of civilization must be more than these simple descriptions of politeness and “advanced stage of social development” in order for humanity to be truly civilized, as opposed to barbarous.
All of this leads to a new definition of what it means to be civilized.
Civilized: the acceptance of all human beings as equal in their individual right to life, their right to share in the natural resources of the earth, and their right to be free of subjugation or enslavement.
If we apply this definition, before humanity can consider itself civilized there must be universal peace and every individual must have food, clothing, and shelter, and be able to live without fear of anyone else.
Many will take exception to the reference to natural resources. However, it doesn’t take a scientist or historian to see that throughout history, up to and including the present day, the greatest acts of barbarism have been committed for the control of those resources.
If this definition of civilization can be accepted, it becomes obvious that humanity has failed to make any progress in the past 10,000 years. Every country has its poor, its destitute, its helpless, its homeless and its starving. Each country also has its truly wealthy, those who never have to worry about anything having to do with the necessities of living, and can spend their time wondering where in the world to go to keep from being bored. In between these extremes are those who have enough to eat, a place to sleep, clothes to wear, and a community where they feel relatively safe. If we only apply the new definition of civilization to this group, they seem to fit. That is until you consider that by accepting the extremes they are barbarous in their acceptance of cruelty to others even if they themselves don’t commit the acts. This was true in Egypt when the pyramids were being built, and it’s true today as the first multinational space station is being built.
Humanity's failure to progress can, in large measure, be accounted for by a refusal to accept definitions of words that make people uncomfortable. Psychologist and sociologists have proven time and again that changes in thought and behavior can and do happen simply because people want to feel good about themselves. If a new definition of civilized, which includes direct opposition to barbarism as well as being socially progressive and polite, can be accepted and internalized, the results could be startling. Then, even though we may not get there tomorrow, just maybe, we can at least begin to make some real progress. It’s about time after 10,000 years, don’t you think?
Consider the war in Iraq simply as an example of current values based on our definitions. Is it not barbarous, with its cruelly dispassionate killing of more than 100,000 civilians? Is it not a barbarous state of mind that allows many people to ignore the innocent dead civilians? Yet everyone who is directly involved in these acts, and those accepting the death of innocents without so much as a hint of concern, fit the accepted dictionary definition of civilized. Something is obviously wrong with this picture.
What is wrong is that our language allows us, in fact it encourages us, to deceive ourselves. Our definitions allow us to be proudly civilized while committing acts of meanness and cruelty which are patently barbarous. There is obvious need for a better definition in order to think clearly about what we see and feel. If the world is viewed as the place where humanity lives, any workable definition of civilization must be more than these simple descriptions of politeness and “advanced stage of social development” in order for humanity to be truly civilized, as opposed to barbarous.
All of this leads to a new definition of what it means to be civilized.
Civilized: the acceptance of all human beings as equal in their individual right to life, their right to share in the natural resources of the earth, and their right to be free of subjugation or enslavement.
If we apply this definition, before humanity can consider itself civilized there must be universal peace and every individual must have food, clothing, and shelter, and be able to live without fear of anyone else.
Many will take exception to the reference to natural resources. However, it doesn’t take a scientist or historian to see that throughout history, up to and including the present day, the greatest acts of barbarism have been committed for the control of those resources.
If this definition of civilization can be accepted, it becomes obvious that humanity has failed to make any progress in the past 10,000 years. Every country has its poor, its destitute, its helpless, its homeless and its starving. Each country also has its truly wealthy, those who never have to worry about anything having to do with the necessities of living, and can spend their time wondering where in the world to go to keep from being bored. In between these extremes are those who have enough to eat, a place to sleep, clothes to wear, and a community where they feel relatively safe. If we only apply the new definition of civilization to this group, they seem to fit. That is until you consider that by accepting the extremes they are barbarous in their acceptance of cruelty to others even if they themselves don’t commit the acts. This was true in Egypt when the pyramids were being built, and it’s true today as the first multinational space station is being built.
Humanity's failure to progress can, in large measure, be accounted for by a refusal to accept definitions of words that make people uncomfortable. Psychologist and sociologists have proven time and again that changes in thought and behavior can and do happen simply because people want to feel good about themselves. If a new definition of civilized, which includes direct opposition to barbarism as well as being socially progressive and polite, can be accepted and internalized, the results could be startling. Then, even though we may not get there tomorrow, just maybe, we can at least begin to make some real progress. It’s about time after 10,000 years, don’t you think?
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