Re: Civilization? FEH.

Knuckle Sandwich (emartin@lynx.neu.edu)
1 Nov 1996 13:00:46 GMT

In article <55cm80$4c5@clarknet.clark.net>, thedavid@clark.net (David O'
Bedlam) wrote:

> Joshua Fruhlinger <jfruh@uclink4.berkeley.edu> wrote:
> [...]
>
> >On the other hand, your point about grain storehouses is interesting.
> >Perhaps civilization arises where there is need for large scale
> >organization? (i.e. Egypt's tricky flood system, Sumer's large-scale
> >irrigation works.)

> The beginnings of "civilization" were to due to the arrogant cowardice
> of the area's lawdly despots -- who should have lead their people into
> nicer places to live instead of forcing them at spear-point to prop up
> their comic-book pretensions with tremendous and unneccessary efforts.
> Those "Mighty Lords" (like ours) were implacable brats -- whose "major
> achievements" were basely inhumane and merit only revulsion. There are
> no building projects worth a thousand human lives, nor can there be.
>

Perhaps you should take a look at the First section of William McNeil's
book "The Rise of the West" in which he attributes the rise of
civlizations in Egypt and Sumer to mans ability to manipulate his
environment (such as irrigation, domestication of animals etc...) and he
provided a few more footnotes than you did.

Fine, so you believe that with out with out the powerful rulers and
'elites' of society leading us common people would be happy to just wander
from place to place waiting for our next meal to materialize - in fact the
last sentence of your posr indicates that is the way you think things
SHOULD be. In that case perhaps you should rethink your use of the
technology you used in order to convey this ridiculous, and unsupported
point.

Knuckle Sandwich

"Your mind is not dirty, so don't let no one wash your brain"