Civilization And Chaos
One of the realizations I had when I returned from Vietnam was that the line between civilization and chaos is a very thin one. It took me awhile to be able to put this idea into words or even really understand it, but I had an almost instant realization that I was much more defenseless, much more at the mercy of my fellow human beings in America than I was in Vietnam. As I've gotten older, I've come to realize that my earlier understanding wasn't exactly true, as I have always been at the mercy of others and less in control than I ever thought.
This realization comes up for me again while watching the events in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast unfold in the past week and a half. I have seen many instances where the veneers of civilization have been stripped bare by the howling winds, driving rains, and rising waters in that part of the world. Many otherwise civilized human beings have reacted in decidedly uncivilized ways during this crisis, while many others have kept to the precepts of order and charity that are the hallmarks of civilization.
Consider the looting that has been reported, and in some cases televised. There seem to have been two kinds of looting, or at least so it has been characterized by outside observers. There was survival looting that, we are told, limited itself to food, water, bandages, and medicines: the necessities of life that people who were not receiving help from the world outside of the devastated area took to meet their survival needs. And then there was the looting that has been characterized as thievery and thuggery by outside observers. This looting involved seemingly useless items like televisions, stereo equipment, and other electronics. This looting also included guns--rifles, pistols, shotguns, and automatic weapons--and ammunition. This type of looting has troubled people. Many see it as symptomatic of a sick society or of how "they" are different and morally inferior to "us."
I see the second type of looting as very similar to the first kind, that is survival looting. Weapons and ammunition are essential for self-defense in a lawless area. And for people who have no money, the electronics items might be barterable for food or water.
By now, it must seem to the gentle reader that I condone lawlessness. I do not. It is not my preferred way to live. Yet I submit that we are all a stiff wind away from chaos where we live. In my experience, people are not inherently good or orderly, nor are they inherently evil or chaotic. Most people follow the influences around them, and if they are afraid, I find that people will do things and justify things that they would not ordinarily tolerate.
Few of us, myself included, obey laws we feel inconvenience us. We routinely speed when driving or roll through stop signs without coming to a complete halt or squeeze through a traffic signal that just turned red. We are not above petty theft at the office--they'll never miss that ream of paper or those pencils or batteries or file folders or staples. We'll cheat on our income tax, either by commission, which seems rare, or by omissions such as accepting a payment in cash that we have no intention of claiming on our tax returns or not paying the sales tax we owe on our Internet purchases. And even if we don't do these things, we don't brag about it to others. To tell others is to invite scorn upon us as fools for not taking advantage. "Others do it; why can't I?" we say or we hear.
Admittedly, these 'crimes' are not on a par with murder or grand theft. I suspect though that they erode or regard for the rules of civilization and make it easier to take the leap from these small actions and the larger ones that arise in times of crisis. To expand on what I said earlier, our civilization is but a fire or earthquake or tornado or hurricane or flood away from breakdown. If I do not judge the actions of others harshly, it is because I know how close I am to doing what they're doing, should I feel the need arise.
This realization comes up for me again while watching the events in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast unfold in the past week and a half. I have seen many instances where the veneers of civilization have been stripped bare by the howling winds, driving rains, and rising waters in that part of the world. Many otherwise civilized human beings have reacted in decidedly uncivilized ways during this crisis, while many others have kept to the precepts of order and charity that are the hallmarks of civilization.
Consider the looting that has been reported, and in some cases televised. There seem to have been two kinds of looting, or at least so it has been characterized by outside observers. There was survival looting that, we are told, limited itself to food, water, bandages, and medicines: the necessities of life that people who were not receiving help from the world outside of the devastated area took to meet their survival needs. And then there was the looting that has been characterized as thievery and thuggery by outside observers. This looting involved seemingly useless items like televisions, stereo equipment, and other electronics. This looting also included guns--rifles, pistols, shotguns, and automatic weapons--and ammunition. This type of looting has troubled people. Many see it as symptomatic of a sick society or of how "they" are different and morally inferior to "us."
I see the second type of looting as very similar to the first kind, that is survival looting. Weapons and ammunition are essential for self-defense in a lawless area. And for people who have no money, the electronics items might be barterable for food or water.
By now, it must seem to the gentle reader that I condone lawlessness. I do not. It is not my preferred way to live. Yet I submit that we are all a stiff wind away from chaos where we live. In my experience, people are not inherently good or orderly, nor are they inherently evil or chaotic. Most people follow the influences around them, and if they are afraid, I find that people will do things and justify things that they would not ordinarily tolerate.
Few of us, myself included, obey laws we feel inconvenience us. We routinely speed when driving or roll through stop signs without coming to a complete halt or squeeze through a traffic signal that just turned red. We are not above petty theft at the office--they'll never miss that ream of paper or those pencils or batteries or file folders or staples. We'll cheat on our income tax, either by commission, which seems rare, or by omissions such as accepting a payment in cash that we have no intention of claiming on our tax returns or not paying the sales tax we owe on our Internet purchases. And even if we don't do these things, we don't brag about it to others. To tell others is to invite scorn upon us as fools for not taking advantage. "Others do it; why can't I?" we say or we hear.
Admittedly, these 'crimes' are not on a par with murder or grand theft. I suspect though that they erode or regard for the rules of civilization and make it easier to take the leap from these small actions and the larger ones that arise in times of crisis. To expand on what I said earlier, our civilization is but a fire or earthquake or tornado or hurricane or flood away from breakdown. If I do not judge the actions of others harshly, it is because I know how close I am to doing what they're doing, should I feel the need arise.
posted by Tom | 11:30 AM
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