Re: [pf] "Civilization". Civility.

At 09:03 15/5/2001 -0400, Gary Barrett wrote:
> A key element IMO is a society's desire for civility. ...
>
>IMO a belief in courtesy, and a sense that others' needs have importance
just as my own ... is a necessity for society to function and thrive.  
>
>Courtesy is more; ... so that others can get around me. ... so that I
don't bother others. ... allowing someone to merge into my highway lane ...
opening a door for someone ... pedestrians and other drivers.  
> ...
>Without civility and the social skills that make civil behavior happen, ...
>

· A baby _has_ to put him/her self first. Has to cry and shout, when
there's something wrong. Has to demand to be fed. A great deal of "I want!
I want!".

· Then, somewhere between 3 and 7 years old for most (I believe), usually
because their beloved god (their parent) requires them to do so, most
children begin to see others: "_there_ is someone quite a lot like me."
  I remember the (one) occasion when I had to point out to our oldest, at
about 7yo: "imagine you were him (his younger brother, whom he was
tormenting)". "How would you like to have that done to you?"

· Ever since then (for him), and all along for the younger two, all three
have been /much/ more solicitous of others' welfare than most others their
age.

· To me, this change from a childish "Me First!" to a society-required
consideration for others, is a mark of maturity. A criterion to be achieved
before someone should be allowed to enter society as the equal of everyone
else.


· Now; as to reasons why it's no longer required - I don't know, though
(naturally) /I/ believe that it, and the sharing that is a likely
consequence, had to be expunged from ordinary people's lives in order to
make them sufficiently susceptible to messages that "they (individually)
have to consume more".

· And as I've said *ad nauseam*, I see this sickness as having begun in the
USA and is now spread around the whole world. {I guess I have to point out
that I'm talking about "the US culture" here, not individual Americans or a
sizeable minority who haven't been sucked-in by the consumerist culture.}

· In a similar way to how main-stream Americans view Californians, the rest
of the world views the American culture. That's my guess. Extremist,
selfish, self-absorbed, uncivilized.

David.
(David MacClement) davd@ihug.co.nz 
http://www.geocities.com/davd.geo/index.html#top
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