A Civilization Manifesto

This will be rough.

I’ve always been attracted to the idea of identifying unifying
characteristics of desired society, and defining those ideals as sacred to
the group that embraces them. The Constitution does this, of course, but it
deals with principals where I aim to talk about behaviors. I come to this
from decades of observing dissimilar people living with each other. I’m
struck by how different they are, and most importantly, how much they
dislike one another.

I’ve always wondered if there was a way to insist that people be nice to
each other. A way of building unity and pleasantness into a society through
a philosophy, or a set of ideals that everyone is pounded in by parents,
taught in every grade of school, pushed through public service
announcements, etc. Here’s a first attempt at capturing ideas that will go
into such rules (which I’ll create properly later):

1. You should be pleasant to those who pass you on the street. Smile, give
   a greeting. Nod. Whatever. Do not ignore someone unless there is a
   reason (you’re on the phone, talking to someone else, etc.)

2. Speak quietly while in public. Whether on the phone or speaking with
   others, attempt to use a volume that will reach your audience and nobody
   else.

3. Smoking in public is extraordinarily rude. Smoke can be detected and
   cause annoyance hundreds of feet away, and going to the entrance of a
   building to do so will not help, as that’s the door for non-smokers as
   well.

4. Assume the best of others at all times.

5. A standard language.

6. Give people ample personal space in public. Do not crowd or rush them to
   gain advantage in some way. We are not competing here. We are
   cooperating.

7. When in public, be aware of those around you, and be willing to engage
   them in eye-contact, polite conversation, or a simple smile. Do not tune
   out to those around you because you consider them different than you or
   somehow unimportant. Unsupervised Learning — Security, Tech, and AI
   in 10 minutes… Get a weekly breakdown of what’s happening in
   security and tech—and why it matters.

8. The tenets above are behavior-based, and these metrics, i.e. how people
   treat each other, are the only grounds on which someone can be judged.
   Membership in our country/city/whatever is based on these concepts
   alone, and judging others negatively based on any other criteria will
   not be tolerated by our society.

9. A belief in education. Work is not enough. You must be educated in order
   to participate as a full citizen of an advanced society. The nuances of
   building a society, and the ability to filter bad information and avoid
   being manipulated all depend on education. The question is not whether
   you will do well in school, it’s which school you’ll do well in.

10. Others…

Finally, and most importantly, the purpose of the charter is to say that if
you can’t embrace these ideas you’re simply not welcome here (wherever the
place is that embraces this). If you wish to be rude to others, think
yourself separate and above interacting with those around you, or better
than someone because of their race, religion, etc. — you simply can’t play
in our sandbox.

And our sandbox will be the best one, because we’ll have the best people
here from everywhere in the world. The only thing we’ll have in common is an
agreement on the Constitution (think U.S.) and these core behavioral
beliefs. These combined make us the most pleasant place to live, with the
smartest people in the world clamoring to join the community.

We must end the Balkanization of our largest cities and countries. This is
how to do it. Insist on cohesion and unity. Make it part of the identity of
society.

::