Beech Tree News Network

CIVIL WAR ?

One of my earliest recollections about a formal education process is learning about “The Civil War,” in an American history class. At the time I had not yet fully developed my love for words, so my youthful self, deduced that the word “civil,” must mean within the borders of a single country.

Actually the word civil is quite an interesting word with a long history of its own. Our modern usage of the word civil derives its beginning from the Latin word “civis,” which basically means- to be a citizen of a developed society. Throughout history being the citizen of certain regimes, empires, kingdoms, or territories, brought with it some basic rights and privileges. If you enjoy history as I do you have encountered many examples of people invoking their rights of citizenship, such as demanding trials be held in the place where they have citizenship. You have no doubt heard people spout the phrase “I know my rights,” when confronted by some perceived injustice. The “Miranda rights” are an example of rights given to anyone suspected of a serious crime, afforded all, just by being inside the borders of this country.

The word “Civilization,” which means- a sophistication or refinement of a structured society; traces its roots back to the word–Civil. Now-a-days the word civil has taken on some nuances. It still carries the rights and responsibilities of citizenship such as in “civil servant” or “civic responsibilities,” but when most of us use it in phrases such as “act in a civil manner,” we are talking about acting in a courteous, respectful, or gracious manner.

Civil is kind of the opposite of- barbarian- in meaning, for most of us now. The word-Barbarian- has also gone through a bit of a metamorphosis, originally meaning simply –uncivilized- or not a member of a developed society. Thus the statement “whoever is not Greek is barbarian,” made by Ammonius, makes perfect sense for his day. The word went on to take on more shades of meaning such as being unable to reason properly, cruel, unable to control appetites and desires, or politically; unable to govern themselves. I can think of quite a few that fit this definition living in “society” today, many of them working in government. Today we simply define barbarian as a brutal, insensitive, savage, warlike, person or group of persons, (still defines a few working or seeking to work, in government.)

Now, how does this fit in to the world we find ourselves in today and what message do I wish to convey that is relevant to our “society”? This country once went through a “Civil War” over the right to govern society with certain ideals and ideologies at stake. Today I feel that- civility- itself is at stake and under attack. Is barbarism taking hold as a guiding principle and ideal or will civility, respect, and honor win out?

Along with learning history in my youth, I also learned to read and relatively soon, learned it pretty well, so much so that I often did it on my own time, just for fun. One of my favorite series of books to read back then was the “Conan the Barbarian” series. I kind of admired the strength, savagery, and nonconformity to the rules of civilization. I have to admit there is a part of me that still admires all that, to a certain degree. Strength and nonconformity are still high on my list of admirable traits but for me, savagery is pretty well confined to enjoying controlled MMA matches between consenting combatants.

There are some examples we can explore, which I think can help us when deciding what direction we will choose. Since I started off talking about education we’ll go there. I am a huge John Dewey fan but I don’t have the space to recount his philosophy here, so you all will have to look it up, I see spirituality quite differently but on education, we are very similar. Along with others such as John Holt, Maria Montessori, the Waldorf and Sudbury systems and going back as far as Socrates methods, which are all child centered in practice and what I consider- civil. Contrast that with a hierarchical structure, rooted in fear and rigidity; then barbaric is a polite term in my estimation. To me, ensuring that all children are afforded an education, as far as they want to go, is also a civic responsibility.

Medical care is another area we can look at. Do we as a society wish to take care of our sick, hurting, disabled and elderly, or do we want to live by the “law of the jungle,” where only the strongest survive? Family life is another area, do we treat those we love with contempt and argue just to prove ourselves “right,” or do we look at them through eyes of respect and empathy.

There is a saying “choose now whom you will serve,” you either choose compassion, empathy, and equality; or you choose self-centeredness, greed, and hierarchy! Do not say you chose one, while serving another. Will it be civility or barbarism!