The Decline of American ‘Civilization’

“Civilization is an occasional and temporary interruption of the jungle.”—Will Durant.

“Civilization” or “being civilized” are not terms that are wholly easy to define.  Vagaries and degrees can exist; it would be hard to argue that any human being is totally “uncivilized” or that any human being (or culture) has a monopoly on the term.  We tend to think of “civilized” societies as those who possess at least a modicum of decent behavior and progress.  Perhaps “civilization” can best be defined—though possibly not with total accuracy—as a distinction between man and the animal kingdom, or in the word Durant used, the “jungle.”

Animals—despite some idiotic Leftist claims today—don’t have morality, art, economic goals, religion, science—things that we have often considered to be representative of “civilized” societies.  Some animals do, on occasion, show some features of what we might call “civilized” behavior, but such is not planned by intelligence; it is wholly by instinct and a desire for self-preservation.  The “jungle” isn’t “civilized” in any intelligent definition of the word.  “Civilization” is an offshoot of humans created in the image of God, yet with a crucial, important conception:  God gives man freedom of moral choice and thus the freedom to descend into barbarity and the jungle if we choose to do so.  As the quote from Durant suggests, and any good historian will tell you, such has happened in human history and not necessarily infrequently.  Not many of us would call the Nazis “civilized.”

Thus, there is a standard of behavior—again, not always clearly or distinctly defined in human activity—which we can call “civilized” vs. “uncivilized.”  When people sink below a certain standard of decency, responsibility, concern for their fellow creatures, and wise, virtuous conduct, it would be hard to call them “civilized.”

Are the inner cities of most Democratic Party-controlled metropolises “civilized”?  I, personally, would not call them that.  There is some behavior everywhere that classifies as “civilized,” but when that certain standard is no longer reached, barbarity becomes dominant.  The streets of Chicago and San Francisco are probably more dangerous than an Amazonian jungle.

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