To be “civilized” is to show refinement and restraint, as well as evidence of moral, intellectual, and cultural advancement, to act in a humane, ethical, and reasonable way, and to be courteous and well-mannered. With that dictionary definition in mind, I can’t help but point out a few cracks I’ve noticed in the veneer of civilized behavior. Like those cage fights that are drawing big crowds and TV ratings. And people seem to be watching NASCAR races mostly for the crashes, if YouTube replays are any indication. And on TV last night there was a rerun of Jericho (aftermath of nuclear war by government on its own people), I Am Legend (humans turned into raging beasts by a man-made plague), ads for Time-Life’s “World at War” (“You haven’t seen WWII until you’ve seen these DVDs!”), ads for Quantum of Solace (007 has lost his sense of humor; now he’s just a killer), ads for The Day the Earth Stood Still (alien arrives to rid Earth of the human race), ads for DVD of Dark Knight (darkest Batman yet; was once a “comic” book and a campy TV show), etc. And this is the holiday (i.e., holy day) season?

Studies show that prime time TV and the 50 top grossing movies average 15 violent acts per hour. Children’s TV averages twice that, a violent act every two minutes. The US is fighting wars in two countries, the Drug War in Mexico has claimed more than 5,000 lives this year, pirates have returned to the seas off Africa, Asia, South America, and the Caribbean, and it seems that there is nowhere in this civilization we are safe from acts of terror. Last Friday, two people were killed when a bomb exploded in a bank a few miles up the road from me, in Woodburn, Oregon. Finally, for today anyway, as the numbers of Holocaust survivors dwindle to a few dozen, anti-semitism is on the rise again in Europe. According to Newsweek, 50% of Spaniards “have unfavorable views of Jews,” and such feelings are becoming more prevalent in Germany, France, and elsewhere on The Continent. If this is what passes for “civilized” behavior early in the 21st century, then perhaps our civilization doesn’t have far to fall.