Too Civilized

 

Published 10/10/06

 

In her October 2 letter “Narrow-minded definition of ‘protect and serve” Gara Gillentine lamented the loss of what I would call our “community spirit” in describing the failure of anyone to stop and help a stranded woman and her child, and one “citizen’s” attitude of “too bad, so sad” concerning the woman.

 

Back when I thought I knew all the answers I was sure that federal welfare programs, forced on us by those “do-gooder Liberals” were the sole cause of our loss of compassion.  Now, I suspect the cause is much deeper, and is more a natural consequence of material prosperity.

 

When this country was still mostly wilderness, every household had to do everything for itself – build the house and barn, raise crops and livestock, make clothing, tools, and the like.  Consequently, a great deal of “community spirit” existed between neighbors as a matter of necessity.

 

With economic development and the consequent division of labor, people needed their neighbors less because, having jobs as part of that division, they could afford to pay someone to do some of the things they once did for themselves.  This truly is lamentable, since most people have lost not only their community spirit, but the actual skills to provide themselves with the very necessities of life.

 

While I doubt such lack of basic “life skills” will ever be a serious problem, the loss of “community spirit,” I think, has made our lives less rich, less meaningful.  Look at any other species of animal in the wild, even the so-called “primitive” cultures in places like the Amazon Forest, and you see close cooperation and support among the members.

 

The material “prosperity” and confidence in the future that enable us to ignore our fellow humans seems to exist only in “civilized” cultures.

 

Is it possible to be “too civilized?”