What does it mean to be civilized?

Civilization is defined as an advanced state of social development and not barbarous, not military and not criminal. To civilize means to bring out of barbarism. Well by these definitions we have not had a civilization as such on planet earth. But remember these are only words like ‘Utopia’ and can be talked of in lofty, academic circles. There they can sprout their knowledge of the Assyrian or the Minoan or the Egyptian or the Roman or the Greek peoples, not civilizations in my opinion, mainly learnt through wall paintings, some ancient scrolls and archeology.

I have always had lingering doubts as to the civilizations of the past as being glorious. Yes, in one sense if you base this on art and modern methods of plumbing that were back then and various works of philosophy then fine, but someone has to do the back breaking work to build the foundations for any empire and the equation is simple. Brutal rulers and slaves, wars and conscription and who do they choose? The very people who could make a peaceful civilization if left alone. The humble workers who seek not power and its consolidation but just want to live a happy life .
Who has been the greatest messenger of the last 2,000 years with one or two simple civilized messages? Why Jesus Christ, and he belonged to just this strata of society. “The meek will inherit the earth and love thy neighbour as thyself and do unto other as you would have done to you.”
Follow these rules and you might just be on the right path to being civilized but then who creeps in Mr Money and Mr Power. These addictive temptations appeal to the weak, who can’t get there as a humble messenger of peace, and can only do it in a gang of bullies and take all with them in their march to personal glory. This has been labeled civilization in our university history books? It was Herodius, the Greek historian, who upon visiting Egypt made note of how dictatorial and tyrannical the Pharoahs were in the recruitment of slaves and making them work to build huge monuments to their own ego and glory. I don’t mean the pyramids but the statues( like Saddam Hussein did too.) The pyramids were built by an advanced civilization and here we are getting closer to the real meaning, peace loving peoples from space who arrived and laser cut and levitated the huge blocks with their light ships using anti gravitational forces and those of magnetism to build them so they could map the earth accurately for their space trips; they were beacons or markers as they have found on Mars recently. All the Pharoahs did was to fool the people these were their marvels.

Okay, back to the question having looked at how civilised Alexander the Great,the Pharoahs, Ghengis Khan and the Roman emperors were! As I said at the beginning we have yet to see a civilised country on the planet, but there is one instance of someone and strangley enough I only read about this man having just arrived in America. (who in the last eight years or so has not proved to be a civilised nation although they would claim to be the greatest country on earth) Well I’ve got news, Australia holds that title. We may have been allies in wars but we’ve never gone out and conquered and made a war on anyone. Anyway this man was the king of the Hawaiian Island group and his name was Kamehameha and he tried to increase the happiness of his people not their wants. The Hawaiian monarchs left for future generations a legacy of benevolence in education, health care and “tenderness towards the weakest members of society”. The ‘mana’ or spiritual power of Hawaii’s kings and queens is so great that more than a century after the monarchy ended it still breathes over the islands. They set aside trusts that looked after children and the elderly and built hospitals and parks for all.

Have always wanted to tell the world of this legacy which came from people who cared even though they were in power and could have used it like so many to push the poorer down in their own ego and power satisfaction. It was a story that made me feel good and as far as I know with the exception of other Pacific islands who have much the same value system of caring for all in the community is the closest thing to being civilized I know of on earth. Vanuatu was recently voted the happiest place on earth, maybe true civilized people are there?