What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?
Mahatma Gandhi, "Non-Violence in Peace and War"

Americans have been taught that their nation is civilized and humane. But, too often, U.S. actions have been uncivilized and inhumane.
Howard Zinn

Civilized society is perpetually menaced with disintegration through this primary hostility of men towards one another.
Sigmund Freud

Money, not morality, is the principle commerce of civilized nations.
Thomas Jefferson

A civilized man is one who will give a serious answer to a serious question. Civilization itself is a certain sane balance of values.
Ezra Pound

Civil (according to Webster’s): cultured, civilized, polite, or courteous (esp. in a merely formal way).

WE, meaning the whole human race in this context, are anything but civilized. If anything, we are regressing socially, politically, ethically, and (yes) spiritually. Throughout the history of time, man has been in a less than civil state. Maybe it’s in our nature to destroy ourselves, but we have not succeeded in that regard as of yet (yet being the operative word). Countless wars have been fought. Many good (and bad) men, women and children have been cruelly tortured and killed since man first came into existence. It continues to this day.

So far, no solution presented by man has solved this dilemma. In the meantime, we are becoming more angry, bitter, frustrated and intolerant of each other than ever before. Will we one day “see the light” and be completely free of human suffering of any kind? Will we one day live in an age where there are no wars? Will we one day reach the point where there is no more evil or stupidity (as Thoreau would put it) any longer?

Perhaps we won’t. Any thinking man can see why answering those questions are pointless. . . However, we seem to think that the answer to all of our current problems is simply to annihilate each other. In other words, we think that the answer to hate is to hate back tenfold.

WE use religion and the power and bully pulpit of political positions to justify our means. This not only goes for countries, but also for individuals as well. If someone doesn’t agree with us, we simply kill them. Killing manifests itself in many forms. If we can’t kill someone literally, we resort to killing them mentally (like brainwashing somebody), spiritually or financially. I think that the latter is self explanatory. Politicians love to use that tactic to defeat their foes. . .

Anyhow, in order to grow as a race, we must progress in a civil and polite manner. This implies good will towards our fellow man. This is happening in reverse.

Picture a car on an inclined mud slope trying to reach the top. Naturally, gravity will pull the car towards the bottom. However, the driver will fight the pull of gravity and continue to spin his wheels. Sure, he will slow the progress of his downward fall, but ultimately he is sure to fail in his quest. Well, that is what’s basically happening with humanity. We are in a car on a very muddy slope, and we are spinning out of control trying to prevent the inevitable from taking place.

So what is the answer? No one among us really seems to know the answer. Why is that? The answer in inevitable: We are uncivilized.

Perhaps we should get out of the car (the car being our limited intellectual capacity), put our brains together, and try to find a way to reach the top of the slope.

I just don’t think that will ever happen.