We no longer know the difference between civilization and culture, and we don t care either. And the result of this failure to support even normal levels of human aspiration is the rapid decay of the underpinnings of civilization itself. The flourishing bacilli of raw greedy consumption continues to erode this society, and the eventual result will be an entire nation of Have Nots. But far too few see this inevitable end, and so we go on as we are. We are hypnotically focused on the Haves and Have Nots, as if that was all there is to human life.
Material sufficiency is just the foundation and the beginning.
Having is merely the prerequisite to doing. We don t speak much about the Dos and the Do Nothings. In fact, to be able to Do Nothing is considered to be the very pinnacle of worldly rewards. Most people do only what they must, and rarely what they can. They work very hard most of their lives at some activity which requires far less of them than they have to offer, and then, if they are lucky, are rewarded by the Do Nothing prize given at the end, called Retirement .