What civilization is, is 6 billion people trying to make themselves happy by standing on each other's shoulders and kicking each other's teeth in. It's not a pleasant situation.

The main thing going on in the 20th century is a dissolving of boundaries, all the boundaries that historical civilization put in place.

It seems to me far more likely that an advanced civilization would communicate inter dimensionally and telepathically.

So the conclusion that I reach, visa vie the individual and civilization, is this: Culture is not our friend. Culture is not your friend. It's not my friend. It's a very uncomfortable set of accommodations that have been hammered out over time for the convenience of institutions.