Civilization. Civilian. Civil Society. Civilized. Civility. Civil rights. Civics and Civic responsibility. Civil — the word and its derivatives originated from the Latin civilis. Isn’t it interesting that this word stands for both the structure of a society, and a way of behaving?

When we study past civilizations, we look at their stages of social and economic development, the infrastructures that they have built to create cohesiveness in the society, the institutions to create law and order, to serve the common good, and to advance culture, science and technology. The most advanced civilizations, like ancient Greece, were the most civil, by definition of the importance placed on politeness and mutual respect.

For an individual to be civilized is to be able to behave in a more cultured, respectful, or enlightened manner, to be cognizant of others in the society around them, to attempt to be non-offensive to others. It may in part be conforming to the norms of the society, but if the society itself is not formed from the principles of civility, the norms will not reflect a civil society.

In addition to civil behavior, there is civic responsibility. Citizenship. The collective rights and responsibilities of members of a civilized society. The more advanced a civilization becomes, the harder it is to maintain its level and keep it from falling backward into decay. It takes concern, involvement, participation, of all its citizens.

Some civilizations were able to flourish for a long time and achieved high levels of knowledge and culture. These civilizations rewarded advancements in science, technology and the arts. We find that free societies based on democratic principles have been the ones to achieve the highest levels of advancement. When Europe came out of the dark ages of warring feudal kingdoms into the Renaissance, the Age of Enlightenment, with the heightened importance of civility, much of the knowledge and advancements that we benefit from today were possible.

All this is to say that for a civilization — or a country — to be successful it takes civility and civic responsibility, both derivatives of the Latin civilis. The inherent difficulty of maintaining a country based on a democratic form of government requires every citizen and especially their leaders to adhere to those principles.

If you haven’t already surmised what I’m getting at with this foray into philosophy, I’m attempting to apply it to what’s happening to our country today. We are experiencing a marked loss of civility toward each other and a spreading apathy toward civics, government, and politics. Bullies are taking charge; the government is leading by using threats and coercion. That is not making us great, it is destroying us. The example is set at the top and has filtered down into the entire population.

Since the post WWII economic boom which established a healthy middle class, the trend has been for the money to consolidate at the top and the working class and the shrinking middle class have struggled. Once big money was allowed to influence the government, that trend became the law of the land. A society based on democratic principles has a hard time operating under these conditions. And especially one that was founded allowing the institution of slavery to exist. It took a Civil War, which to me is a misnomer — no war can ever be civil, and to this day, a constant fight for the civil rights of all American citizens.

What has happened under these conditions of great wealth inequality and the still present undercurrent of racism? The discouraged population believes that democracy isn’t working, that leadership isn’t seeing them or helping them with the change that is needed. They lose faith in democracy.

While in the abstract, most Americans support democracy, over 80% when polled; when asked specific questions the answers were biased according to political party.

Right-wing propaganda has filled Trump’s followers with notions of democratic evil-doing that rival Grimm’s gruesome fairy tales. We are in a scary place right now.

Trump found his base in poorly educated, economically and socially deprived, mostly rural, conservative-leaning, many radical evangelical Christians, who were duped by his fake promises, were impressed by his illusion of business acumen, and just as the populations that allowed the rise of an authoritarian in the past, they turned into an adoring cult. This base was enough to gain him the ground he needed to begin his rise to political power, using unethical, uncivilized, illegal tactics to bring people in line. He has had help along the way from the billionaires who seek to benefit from plying him for favors – the government contracts that are up for grabs, the investigations and regulations that will magically disappear.

Immigration detention facilities are being built by private companies, with a budget from the Big Beautiful Bill that surpasses the total military budgets of most countries. These companies are, you guessed it, large donors to Trump’s campaign. Trump’s “ghoul Friday,” Stephen Miller, has orchestrated the terror that ICE is unleashing on, not only immigrants, even those who are following the system trying to become citizens, but actual citizens. The only criteria for them is if you happen to have brown skin. Never mind skin cancer, this could be a deterrent to getting a tan if there ever was one. But this is serious. Is this a function of an advanced civilization? Definitely not. It represents devolution, dysfunction, chaos, and tyranny.

The top has set the example, attempting an insurrection and pardoning the perpetrators, promoting violence and silence against those who disagree, showing lack of respect for law or authority, thus building a militia of thugs who will enforce the breakdown of civil society.

Now what happens at the community and personal level? How civil are we? Are we rejecting the hate, are we being civil to each other in everyday practice? It used to be that to be a gentleman was to earn the epitome of respect. Now the bigger bully you can be, the better. Common courtesy toward each other was the norm, manners and etiquette were taught to children at home and in school. But despite the attempts of anti-bullying campaigns, that behavior is becoming more common.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in the comments on social media. Especially those who wouldn’t confront someone on the street, become bold behind the keyboard. Rather than engage in a civil discourse, they resort to personal attacks. This is the equivalent of physical violence by bullies. The more civil society breaks down, the more the primitive instincts take over. These are the voters who elected a liar, conman, egomaniac, convicted felon, insurrectionist, abuser of women (and possibly young girls), a would-be dictator who they want to take over and destroy our nearly 250 years of building toward a free and fair democratic republic.

Do we really want to see everything in this country renamed with gold Trump letters? We were lucky to have David Cay Johnston give a talk recently in Jamestown. He knows the “dangerous despot”, as he calls him, through interviews and has written several books on him and on other subjects. He frequently refers to Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny” which I continue to recommend for enlightenment, as well as finding Mr. Johnston’s works and interviews. Let’s not be another failed civilization in the annals of history. Engage in civility and resist the bullies.

Susan Bigler is a Sheridan resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com