Monday, May 17, 2004
Coming to Terms
What lessons are we supposed to be learning from the current state of the world? We are fighting a civilization that is ancient, especially when compared to ours. The "Cradle of Civilization" in fact -- that is what my 9th grade history book called it. My Oxford Press offers this:
civ·i·li·za·tion n. 1. an advanced stage or system of human social development.
Anthropologically speaking, civilization also means living in cities. So perhaps civilization began when people stopped roaming and started city dwelling, becoming more organized, grouping together for safety & survival.
I remember a study in my Psychology 101 text that described rats becoming cannibalistic when overcrowded. Later I was doing a story for the Richmond Review about the Put & Take Pheasant Hunting Program, and learned pheasants will also attack each other when overcrowded, so they are given tiny little blinders (like horses wear), to shield them from seeing how many other pheasants are all around them. Really! I have photos! Thus proving I am not crazy for refusing to look in my side and rearview mirrors when driving in the city. Overpopulation turns us into aggravated, agitated violent animals -- it is a normal, natural result.
Let us assume, at a minimum, people need to eat, and breathe. Overpopulation could be defined as putting more people per square mile then that square mile can support with its food and air. So when we become overcrowded in our square miles, we become violent "cannibals" -- we attack each other. We are doing what comes naturally. We are just trying to survive on the most basic primordial level. Of course, it takes a long time living in such a square mile for these problems to arise. Perhaps it is not a coincidence that the very "cradle of civilization" has such disproportional, violent difficulty.
What do all these bits and pieces of knowledge do for me? Maybe they say civilization can only move forward to a more advanced stage of development when it spreads out a bit. Maybe we need to help these people (and ourselves) re-establish into more open productive spaces.
Or, just maybe, we have not even begun to evolve yet. Maybe our species is still in it infancy. Maybe we're all still in the cradle, and are fooling ourselves to think any of us are more "civilized" than the next.
What lessons are we supposed to be learning from the current state of the world? We are fighting a civilization that is ancient, especially when compared to ours. The "Cradle of Civilization" in fact -- that is what my 9th grade history book called it. My Oxford Press offers this:
civ·i·li·za·tion n. 1. an advanced stage or system of human social development.
Anthropologically speaking, civilization also means living in cities. So perhaps civilization began when people stopped roaming and started city dwelling, becoming more organized, grouping together for safety & survival.
I remember a study in my Psychology 101 text that described rats becoming cannibalistic when overcrowded. Later I was doing a story for the Richmond Review about the Put & Take Pheasant Hunting Program, and learned pheasants will also attack each other when overcrowded, so they are given tiny little blinders (like horses wear), to shield them from seeing how many other pheasants are all around them. Really! I have photos! Thus proving I am not crazy for refusing to look in my side and rearview mirrors when driving in the city. Overpopulation turns us into aggravated, agitated violent animals -- it is a normal, natural result.
Let us assume, at a minimum, people need to eat, and breathe. Overpopulation could be defined as putting more people per square mile then that square mile can support with its food and air. So when we become overcrowded in our square miles, we become violent "cannibals" -- we attack each other. We are doing what comes naturally. We are just trying to survive on the most basic primordial level. Of course, it takes a long time living in such a square mile for these problems to arise. Perhaps it is not a coincidence that the very "cradle of civilization" has such disproportional, violent difficulty.
What do all these bits and pieces of knowledge do for me? Maybe they say civilization can only move forward to a more advanced stage of development when it spreads out a bit. Maybe we need to help these people (and ourselves) re-establish into more open productive spaces.
Or, just maybe, we have not even begun to evolve yet. Maybe our species is still in it infancy. Maybe we're all still in the cradle, and are fooling ourselves to think any of us are more "civilized" than the next.
