Modern civilization’s dalliance with extinction
By Fiona Killackey Images by Redrick deLeon
“Don’t blame yourself. Blame society.”
- Noam Shoan
How does civilization blossom in a world obsessed with weight, fortune, fame and celebrity? How do we teach our children the importance of unification whilst simultaneously proclaiming our Western superiority? We view a 23-day jail stint as a form of spiritual retreat for an heiress, fueling her inability to perceive reality. How do we protest against cruelty to animals whilst ignoring the cruelty we inflict on the homeless, the unemployed, the addicted, the uneducated and the un-familiar? We increase the cost of education whilst decreasing the price tag for firearms. We allow the sacred teachings of past philosophers, artists, musicians and writers to take a backseat to the gossip-ridden sexed-up media. How do we hold on to the written word when celebrity blogs gain international acclaim yet texts on genocide and third-world atrocities face the threat of being pulped? How do we find beauty in artists who seek to uglify their creations in the hope of a larger, more shockingly indulgent, paycheck? How do we find audio elation when musicians sing about suicide, drug indulgence and fing their bitches? How do we mourn the death of one princess for a decade yet easily forget the bloody murder of over 800,000 Rwandans? What has happened to our world? Who have we become? Where are we headed…and, more importantly, how we will be remembered?
Epictetus, a Greek philosopher living between 55 -135 AD once stated, “What concerns me is not the way things are, but rather the way people think things are.” Living in an age wherein mythology and legend ran rife, Epictetus spent his early years as a slave in Rome. It was here he began dabbling in the study of Greek Stoic Philosophy. Concerned with the moral philosophy of ethics, Stoicism focused on the idea that nature and man should live in harmony; passion should not prevent one from viewing life with clarity and that peace may be achieved by living with reason, virtue and a love for all other beings. Exiled to Greece in his later years, Epictetus lived the majority of his life in Nicopolis attempting to teach others via a school for those seeking philosophical enlightenment. Inspired by the teachings of Socrates, Epictetus merged life experience and beliefs to create a school of thought that held at its core the idea that man should ultimately be in control of his life. Whilst his last breath was drawn almost 2000 years ago, Epictetus’ beliefs mirror those of some modern teachers; Martin Luther King, Jr., Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Che Guevara. Yet unlike Epictetus, who’s words were recorded by his faithful student Arrian and played out as scripture in philosophy lectures around the world, much of what was taught by these modern men ends up, for mainstream youth, little more than a t-shirt slogan; a grainy recording played in the background of music clips and fashion parades; a last-minute campaign addition to gain the black vote.
Civilization by its very definition refers to “an advanced state of human society, in which a high level of art, science, religion and government has been reached.” In our Western world we live in fear of our governments, all the while protesting our disbelief at their arrival into power and projecting our uncertainty onto the ruling parties of foreign nations. We read Michael Moore’s novels, watch Al Gore’s films, drive our hybrid cars and believe, in vain, we are doing something to stop the injustice. Yet, for all our well wishing and sighs about the future, the majority of our world in no way makes the effort to change. We do not think of the future. We think only of the NOW.
