Colloquial Rants and Reasoning: End Civilization as we know it Part 8

Miscellaneous Debris

I was telling a friend of mine about this piece I was writing about the problems in the world. He said, “You could be writing about that for the rest of your life.” He’s absolutely right. This paper could be the longest piece of literature in history.

I could write about mowing the lawn.

I think civilization as we know it should end because it has conditioned us to believe we must have grass and it must be cut. The lawn is a fairly recent development in human history. They started popping up around wealthy estates in the 18^th century where they were kept short by grazing livestock or slaves. Like most anything the rich man has, the average Joe began to covet the lawn and today most every house has one. This wouldn’t bother me much if it wasn’t so strictly regulated in places. What if I think tall dandelions, red clovers and wild crocuses’ are beautiful? The establishment says MY sense for aesthetic is wrong. I must have grass and it must be less than 10 inches long. Never mind the fact that I must own, fuel and maintain a lawnmower or pay someone who does. Never mind the fact that lawnmowers are not held to the same emission standards as automobiles and expose you to an unfettered continuous plume of cancer causing carcinogens. I know I say this to people with a cigarette dangling from my lips, but I am addicted to cigarettes; I am not addicted to mowing the lawn!

I could write about rush hour and the widespread scars we call highways.

As if cities weren’t cumbersome and inefficient enough, the vast majority of people go to work and school and come home at around the same time. We all know what happens. Traffic jams everyday!!! Of course this has nothing to do with civilization which enabled the automobile and oil industries to lobby the government to blaze this floundering monstrosity; a system which leaves us idling, burning gas and wearing out our cars. I think civilization as we know it should end because the world is dominated by highways (nearly 160,000 miles worth in the U.S. alone) many of which are sliced down the middle by hundreds of miles of guard rails, concrete walls and cable barriers which cut off wildlife from water and food sources and breeding grounds. For many life without these arteries would be unthinkable, they provide a lifeline from the periphery to the core, but would they have ever been necessary were it not for civilization? I contend that if it weren’t for civilization, this lifeline would be a short walk to your backyard garden or chicken coop. And maybe you wouldn’t have to go over the river and through the woods to see Grandmother, if civilization hadn’t required your dad to move across the country for that better “opportunity”. How many people are killed on the highways, byways and city streets that are in route to civilized activities like going to work or going to the grocery store?

I could write about innocence lost

I think civilization as we know it should end to preserve the last dwindling vestiges of indigenous people in the world. I say this not only because these people possess the skills necessary to survive in the real world, not only because they’re people who should have rights, but because their worldviews are not skewed by the conditioning of civilization. I think civilization as we know it should end because within modern civilization it is perfectly acceptable for men to be topless in public, but not women. Inventor and artist Jacque Fresco lived on an island in Polynesia for a while where the natives never wore clothes. He says, “They did not behave like people do in a sexually warped or “uptight” culture. The males didn't stare at the female body, but rather looked into their eyes when speaking to them. They were uninterested in photos of nudes, male or female. They didn’t brag about sexual conquests or emphasize their sexual behavior, and it appeared to be as natural as any other activity among them. They engaged in sex when they were old enough to do so and did so without cruelty, fetishes, or any other unnatural patterns. Those distortions mostly occur in modern “civilization” where deprivation and sexual insecurity are dominant.” People did not get aroused at the sight of nudity because they saw it all the time. There was no rape, there was no interest in pornography and there were no prostitutes. And what is with the ignominy attached to breast feeding in public; is it not what breasts are for?

Christopher Columbus accounts his first impression of the people he encountered on San Salvador in his log book. Columbus writes…

“Friday, 12 October 1492
No sooner had we concluded the formalities of taking possession of the island than people began to come to the beach, all as naked as their mothers bore them, and the women also,..” And had a "naked innocence. ... They are very gentle without knowing what evil is, without killing, without stealing.. they will make excellent servants.."

Civilization destroys the uncivilized; it’s what it does best!

Yes, I could go on forever. I could write about the revolving door which makes our business and political elites the same people. I could write about for profit penitentiaries. I could write about factory farms, Genetically Modified Organisms, built in obsolescence, the vulture aspect of civilization the funeral industry, from birth to death with hands (not your hands) in YOUR pockets or the fact that we shit in our own drinking water. I could write about how cities were deliberately designed to control people and easily suppress uprisings. I could go on and on and on and on. But I’m not. I must move on with my life now.

Conclusion

I think civilization as we know it should end because it has NOT always been this way. Civilization is not real. It was childishly and selfishly created and is perpetuated by people in power. It lured people into cities where they were easier to control and over time robbed them of the skills needed to survive in the real world. It encourages the childish and selfish pilfer and ransom of everything imaginable. It creates scarcity, the need for charity, the need for police and prisons. It encourages built in obsolescence, violence and deception as long as you don’t get caught or as long as you can convince people it is just. I think it should end because it’s sick and backward to put a price on health care, food, shelter or even education. The pre-colonized world and its people provided these things free of charge. Civilization has chewed up and spat out nearly every worldview it came in contact with throughout history. It has divided the people, labeled them and then stigmatized the labels. It has turned the relationship into the service, the cooperative into the competitive. It transformed the common heritage of our children (who didn’t ask to be born) into biscuits for those who are born at the “right” place at the right time or for those who jump through the proper hoops.

“The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.”
Thomas Paine

I want this insanity to end because I love you people and this planet. I want it to end for selfish/selfless reasons because we are one and your happiness = my happiness.

Don't you see?; The champions of the civilization experiment have had over 5,000 years to better us, (uh, or something, who knows?), only to create suffering in its wake. Sure, some live well, many just don't and can't really; what about them?

German philosopher Immanuel Kant said that "using reason without applying it to experience only leads to theoretical illusions". I must admit, I don't have all the answers, but we can ponder these things and talk about these things openly; shouldn't we? So I am planning to learn about some alternatives to all this nonsense and I will share my findings. Right now, the best I can tell anyone who agrees with me is to question everything, come together with your family and friends, learn to take care of each other; learn as much as you possibly can and pass it on. Gradually stop participating in civilization to wean you and yours from its teat. After a few generations, civilization could be an infamous figment of the past and humans could be truly free. Thank You for reading and farewell.

Works Cited

"An Underground Education." Randomhouse.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 July 2012. <http://www.randomhouse.com/book/195374/an-underground-education-by-richard-zacks/>.

"Geography: Realms, Regions and Concepts, 15th Edition." Wiley:. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2013.

Kawagley, Oscar. "A Yupiaq Worldview: A Pathway to Ecology and Spirit [Paperback]." Amazon.com: A Yupiaq Worldview: A Pathway to Ecology and Spirit (9781577663843): Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley: Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 July 2012. <http://www.amazon.com/Yupiaq-Worldview-Pathway-Ecology-Spirit/dp/1577663845>.

"The Original Affluent Society--Marshall Sahlins." The Original Affluent Society--Marshall Sahlins. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 July 2012. <http://www.primitivism.com/original-affluent.htm>.

http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/thousands-indigenous-farmers-chased-their-land-biofuels-companies.html

http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm

http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/74192/icode/

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2012/07/11/255172.htm

http://www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_04-background-02-01.htm

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/10/us-natives-alcohol-lawsuit-idUSTRE8191JJ20120210

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/us/next-to-tribe-with-alcohol-ban-a-hub-of-beer.html?pagewanted=1&_r=4

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141672992/native-foster-care-lost-children-shattered-families

http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/Lakota_Indians_cancel_treaties_with_U_S_gov_t_4297.shtml

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443931404577553082044623996.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-51841/Why-mowing-lawn-bad-you.html

http://www.indiaresource.org/campaigns/coke/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_the_Great

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness