Is We Civilized

             ARKANSAS

                                 BY

                       Richard Mason

                         Is We Civilized?

No, not completely. We may be the most powerful nation on earth, and the most technologically advanced country, in the world, but we're not the most civilized. Yes, as a red blooded American, I know we're supposed to go around with a “we're number one” attitude, on everything, and that fine. Heck, I have that attitude, and I wouldn't want it any other way. But let's talk about being civilized, and be honest on where we stand.

Well, what are the keys to a civilized country? Civilized nations do have many things in common. But before we consider items such as healthcare and other criterion let me relate a story about attitude. After all a civilized county must reflect being civilized in everything a person does, or it reduces the mark of a civilized society. Here’s a little story about a civilized attitude.

We were on vacation in Switzerland, and were traveling by train when we stopped at a fair size town for lunch. As we walked into the center of town it was obvious they were preparing for a parade. Of course, we were tickled that we had lucked out, and after speaking with one of the policemen on duty, we found out it was a military parade. We found a good spot to stand and soon we heard a military band, and then leading the parade came a squad of Swiss Mountain Soldiers carrying crossbows. The parade lasted for several hours and as Swiss army units passed they went from knights on horseback forward portraying every era of the Swiss Military. And then, as the units became more and more modernized, the last unit passed were Swiss Special Forces in white, winter uniforms. It was a great parade, but one small incident sticks in my mind. Just to our left where we were standing was a young Swiss girl who looked to be about 10 years old. She was with her family, and they looked to be an average Swiss family out to watch the parade as we were. One unit passed that got them especially excited to the point where they yelled and clapped. It was group of Swiss Special Mountain Soldiers. I smiled as I noticed one of the soldiers nod in recognition, and it sure didn't take much guessing to know he was part of the family.

The parade took over two hours and somewhere toward the middle of the parade the young girl managed to buy some sort of an ice cream snack. I just happened to notice that as she finished her ice cream bar, she started looking for a trash can. I actually glanced around, and there wasn't one in sight. Well, I didn't give it much thought until I saw her neatly fold up the wrapper and put it in her pocket. The parade finally ended and as the crowd left the street, I made a point to look along the street and sidewalks where people had been standing. There wasn't a scrap of trash.

Yes, the lack of litter is a sign of a civilized society. We lived in Benghazi, Libya for two years and traveled North Africa extensively. As we went in and out of those third world countries the people and buildings changed, but not the liter. I've traveled throughout Mexico and to several countries in South America, and I can guarantee you the one thing they have in common is litter.

While we lived in Libya we went on vacation visiting most of the countries in Western Europe. It was easy to see the difference. The more civilized the country the less litter. Okay, so how do we stand on the litter scale compared to a third world country? We're sure a notch up, but we’re not at the top of the list. Are we uncivilized? Yes, in some ways we are, but it’s not just the littler we toss out. Being civilized is a quality and that is spelled out by our attitude. The little Swiss girl had a civilized attitude, and until that attitude permeates every item of our society, we can’t say we’re totally civilized. That's a mindset that says "no more coal fired generating plants, serve freshly prepared foods with no chemicals added, a mindset that makes litter disappear, an emphasis on education rather than sports, a commitment to plant, beautify, preserve, and a restoration of our environment. That requires a civilized mindset, and just building bigger buildings with super technology won’t ever get us completely civilized.