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LaszloNagy
Mrs.McGovern
EnglishFoundations1B3
7March2016

Kiwilization

Civilizationisathinlayeroficeuponadeepoceanofchaosanddarkness,(Werner
Herzog).ThenonfictionarticlewrittenbyScottThompsonexplainshowcivilizationsneverlast
forever.Heexplains,withaquotefromOswaldSpengler,howallcivilizationsgothroughthe
samecyclethatalwaysendsintheirdestruction.Thearticleviewscivilizationsasatemporary
powerintheworldthatcanlastforseveraldecadesormillennia,butneverstayaroundfor
eternity.TheseperspectivesexplainhowthecivilizationthekidscreatedinTheLordofthe
FliesbyWilliamGoldingstartedout,prospered,andtheninevitablycollapsed.Whena
civilizationisformed,itsowstheseedsofitsowndestruction.
Civilizationshaverisenandfallensincethedawnoftimeasweknowit,andtheyallgo
throughthesameexactcycleeverytime.Aspeoplechange,thecivilizationsmustchangewith
them,butnewideasandbeliefscancauserupturesintheinfrastructuresandbreakthe
civilizationsforever.Civilizationislikeahouseofcards.Whenonecardisremoved,thewhole
housecrumbleseventually.Therehavebeenmanygreatcivilizationsacrosstime,buteventhe
strongesthavefallen,someinthemostpeculiarofways.Theprocessofgrowthanddecline
variesgreatlyamongthecivilizationsinhistory.Theycangrowforcenturiesandbedestroyed

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withindays.Inthepast,greatcivilizationssuchasBabylon,theAztecs,andRomehavefallen
eventhoughtheyweresomeofthemostprosperousoftheirtime.Civilizationswillalways
crumble,nomattertheirpower,wealth,andknowledgebecauseitisthecircleoflife.All
civilizationspassthroughthesamecycleofgrowth,declineandeventualcollapse,(Oswald
Spengler).Everycivilizationfollowsthesameprocessaslifeonearth.Theprocessofbirth,
growth,decline,andeventuallydeath.Civilizationsarelivingbreathingthingsthataredestined
todieatonepointoranother.Whenlifestarts,itinstantaneouslybecomesdestinedtodie.The
creationofacivilizationisthestartofitsdownfall.
In
LordoftheFlies
byWilliamGolding,thegroupofstrandedboysarestuckonan
islandinthemiddleoftheocean,separatedfromcivilization.Tosurvive,theboyscreatetheir
ownrulesandcivilizationinthehopesofkeepingorder.Astimegoesby,thesmall
civilizationtheboyshadcreatedstartsfallingapartandtensionbetweenthegroupleadersrises.
SamandEricprotestedoutoftheheartofcivilization,"Oh,Isay!honestly!"(Golding).Island
lifehadridmostoftheboysofanycivilizedmannertheyoncehad.Yet,SamandErictryto
supportthemselvesbyclingingontothelastbitsandpiecesofcivilizationleftinthecrazed
groupofboys.Evenamonganormalgroupofpeople,thelasttracesofhumanityandsanitycan
bedrainedovertimetobringtheendofacivilizationnomatterwhat.
Otherthantheusualpathoflifebringinganendtoanempire,thesheersizeandpowerof
acivilizationcandestroyitself.Forexample,Romeoncewasthegreatestempireintheworld,
yetitssizeandlackofpropercommunicationamongcitiesandregionscausedtheRoman
civilizationtoburnfrominsideout.Whenacivilizationbecomessuccessfulenough,its
complexitycantriggeritsowndestruction,(JakeDiamond).Eventhoughallcivilizationswill

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perishastheyfollowthecircleoflife,somefallsoonerastheirownpowerandcomplexitycrush
themintothesandsoftime.Acivilizationcannotbekeptaliveforeverasiftimedoesnotkillit,
itsownweightwill.Peopletrytokeeptheirempiresandnationsaliveforeverbutsimplicitywill
killthemwithageandcomplexitywithfire.
Ideasandbeliefshavealargeimpactonacivilizationsprogressandsuccess.Thereare
norightorwrongideas,butsomemaybringwealthandprosperitywhileothersbringdeathand
destructiontonationseconomy,government,infrastructure,and/orpeople.Wedideverything
adultswoulddo.Whatwentwrong?(Golding).Theboysbelievedthattheirlittlecivilization
wouldbesuccessfuliftheydidwhattheadultswoulddo.Inreality,itdoesnotmatterifthey
wentwiththeirinstinctsortooktheadultapproach,theywouldfailintheendeitherway.This
isthewayacivilizationworksanditcannotbeavoidedatanycost.
Whenacivilizationisformed,itsowstheseedsofitsowndestruction.Timeandtime
againpeoplehavethoughtthattheyreempire,country,orkingdomwasthegreatestintheworld
andunbeatablebyothers.Theymayhavebeencorrectforthemostpart,buttheyweremissing
thekeypoint.Theyrecivilizationmaynotbebroughttoitskneesbyotherpeople,butinsteadit
wouldcrumblefromitsownweight.Timeisalwaystickingandcivilizationsmayalways
crumble,butaftertheircremationisanewage.