civilizing

It's interesting how being civilized seems to involve blunting or doing away with our self-protective qualities. There's the cutting and filing of our nails for one thing. Some people even have their canine teeth shaved down to be less sharp. Then there's the cutting, shaving or ripping of hair off our bodies, which some cultures believe reduces our sensory and intuitive capacities (similar to a cat and its whiskers). We use lotions to keep our skin soft and soaps to remove natural scents in favor of more flowery or fruity ones, making our noses essentially useless in detecting subtle biological cues. We meticulously disinfect ourselves and everything we use, wear or consume which, taken to an extreme, weakens our immune systems since our bodies become accustomed to and dependent upon sterilization. We wear clothing that either restricts or exposes the body in various ways so we can passively project signals and symbols. We learn to do away with anything loud, direct or aggressive in our speech and behavior in favor of politeness, innuendo and covert/passive forms of influence. We're encouraged to rely on centralized and promoted sources of resources, information, opinion and instruction rather than independently thinking, exploring and making our own decisions. There's even the steady erosion of personal boundaries where more and more of what we say and do is tracked and shared, leaving little room for privacy and unpredictability.

Anyone who doesn't disarm themselves in all these subtle ways can easily be seen as eccentric, antisocial or potentially dangerous by the majority. Naturally so, since we've done away with our own natural defenses and therefore require the same of others to feel safe. In some ways, we're encouraged to perpetually keep ourselves in a childlike state rather than maturing. Proactively making ourselves vulnerable in exchange for acceptance, approval and comfort. Forever adapting to and relying on the fluctuating rules of society and its enforcers to keep us safe.