Tag Archive for: Civilization

Dawn of Humanity

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Armodoxy for Today: Dawn of Humanity

Cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead, who had studied various and many societies throughout the world, taught and advocated for cultural relativism, as a means by which we as people can better understand one another. With all the differences marked by cultures and society, the main ingredient for humanity is a basic one.

The story is told that one of Margaret Mead’s students asked her what she considered to be the first sign of civilization. The student expected the anthropologist to point to clay pots, tools for hunting or various societal or religious artifacts. Instead, Mead pointed to a healed femur found in an archeological site, dating back 15,000 years. This was the first evidence of civilization, she claimed.

A femur is the longest bone in the body, linking hip to knee. Take away some of the benefits of modern medicine and it takes about six weeks of rest for a fractured femur to heal. This particular bone had been broken and had healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, you cannot drink or hunt for food. In fact, if you were wounded in this manner, you became food for other animals. If you were to stand still for your bone to heal, you’d definitely be the main course on some other animal’s dinner menu. Another animal… that’s right. The question being asked was what separates us – humanity – from other animals? Why was this healed bone the key to understanding when we moved from animal to caring people?

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

“Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts,” explained Margaret Mead.

Armodoxy has roots in untouched Christianity. Christ instructs us, “When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.  And you will be blessed.” You see, Christ’s invitation is an invitation to humanity.

Let us pray a prayer from St. Ephrem (4th Century)

I gaze upon You, Christ my Lord, and open my heart before You through fervent prayer, O Son of God, for humbling Yourself before Your creatures and taking on the role of a servant. You possess such love for humankind that we may attain divine wisdom. Have mercy on me, O benevolent God.

Civility

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Armodoxy for Today: Civilization

In one of his campaign speeches, Vice Presidential nominee, Tim Walz, reminded us of a nice tradition that exists at the end of team sports. At the end of a game, one team wins, and another loses, yet both teams find their way to the middle of the playing field and acknowledge their opponent with a handshake or hand bump, while proclaiming “Good game” as they pass by the person that had perhaps tackled them or fouled a ball out of their hand. Walz, who was a high school teacher and coached the football team, said that this tradition promoted sportsmanship. At the end of the game, both teams acknowledge one another with the words “Good game.”

Soccer and water polo were the games of choice in our house. I remember several times when I watched my kids play hard and play their hearts out against a team only to lose. You could tell that the thought of going up to their opponent and saying “Good game” was uncomfortable and verging on protest. But the rules of the league prevailed, and we’d watch the kids go through this ritual and we parents would soon follow the line and nod to the parents on the other team. Sometimes when the competition was extremely fierce and you’d watch the other parents humiliate themselves and their children by yelling and screaming on the side lines, you really didn’t feel like shaking hands with these people, but, what’s good for the children is also good for the parents. And so, we’d offer a Good-Game-bump to our counterparts. It was a simple lesson in sportsmanship that we all knew was necessary as a lesson in life.

As the elections came to a close yesterday, one candidate reached out to the other and conceded the election. Her concession remarks were dignified and reminded me of the way things used to be.

There is nothing uniquely Christian about dignity, sportsmanship, or courtesy. These traits belong to the family of humanity. They are classified under civility and by definition are the foundation of civilization – our ability to work together. In Armenian, kaghakavar or kaghakagrtutiun comes from the same root word, civil. As Armodoxy attests, the message given to us at the beginning of Christ’s ministry is heard from the angels, “Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward one another.” The purpose of all true religion is to seek harmony and understanding among people. And ours is to be a reminder of this simple truth – perhaps with a handshake, or a hand bump, or simply to acknowledge another by proclaiming, You played a good game.

From the Book of Hours of the Armenian Church we pray, Peace and life, Only Begotten Son of God, give us Your peace, that You grant to Your holy apostles by breathing into them Your life-giving and all-powerful Holy Spirit, so that having found our peace from worldly commotions, we may become a temple and an inhabitation of Your grace, and may give thanks to You together with the Father and Holy Spirit. Amen.