A New Civilization

294.2In the News (Forbes): Years ago, the anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about clay pots, tools for hunting, grinding-stones, or religious artifacts.

But no. Mead said that the first evidence of civilization was a 15,000 years old fractured femur found in an archaeological site. A femur is the longest bone in the body, linking hip to knee. In societies without the benefits of modern medicine, it takes about six weeks of rest for a fractured femur to heal. This particular bone had been broken and had healed. …

A broken femur that has healed is evidence that another person has taken time to stay with the fallen, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended them through recovery. A healed femur indicates that someone has helped a fellow human, rather than abandoning them to save their own life.

My Response: This is mutual assistance.

Question: Mutual assistance, is this how civilization began? If we do not come to the point where civilization began, if we do not develop it today, does it turn out that we are moving backward from civilization?

Answer: Certainly. If we develop something, it is only in order to earn money. Today, if there were no desire, no thirst for money, would medicine and surgery develop? Nothing would have developed. We would live in a primitive society. You broke a leg? Well, so you broke it.

Comment: A small group of caring people managed to break through, to create a new civilization. Someone was nearby and put two sticks on his leg, for example. Is the breakthrough happening in a small group?

My Response: Of course. This is true, and it should be this way.

Question: And even during the Renaissance it was the same?

Answer: Yes, of course.

Question: And today, how will there be a breakthrough from indifference to connection? Will it be made by a small group of people?

Answer: It goes through the awareness of necessity anyway. If this happens then we will break through.

Question: Is there such a necessity today?

Answer: As far as I see it, the modern world is doing everything to eliminate this need for mutual assistance for survival.

Comment: You have been pessimistic about humanity lately.

My Response: I’m a realist. Egoism is growing exponentially, surprisingly fast, literally vertically upward, and we have nothing to oppose to it.

Question: But still it is flying to some kind of dead end?

Answer: No. It does not feel this impasse, and it is ready to fight with everyone who is against it.

Question: Where will a new, real civilization begin? At what point will it arise?

Answer: If not with an atomic war—general, serious and total—then there may be some huge volcanic eruptions where nature simply closes us together inside some kind of box. Then maybe we will sit in the dark and realize.

Question: So complete darkness is needed for this?

Answer: Yes. We must understand that there is nowhere else to go otherwise in order to create a certain contract between us, that we will relate to each other only for the benefit of the other, without taking ourselves into account. Such a revolution.

Question: This is a complete revolution of thinking. And then the darkness will vanish?

Answer: Yes.
[293171]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 12/30/21

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