Of Parasites and Pirates

I don’t know what I expected to find. A contemporary voice, a before unseen slant on devious and slippery issues, maybe a cohesive comprehension of my subject. But searching for reason in a thoughtless universe is surely akin to, well, planning a rescue by looking for sea serpents all the while floating in a rubber dingy.

And surely serpents are an apt metaphor. Meeting him here, within these gleaming white walls and elegant tables, the reinforced windows overlooking the hub of the most prosperous spaceport in the galaxy, would seem safe enough. Actually, you might think that he would be the more disconcerted by this haven of bourgeois humanity. But safety is relative, and, where one’s own ethics are concerned, safety can never seem safe enough.

As my most gracious host makes quite clear as we partake of our after dinner drinks.

"Oh come," I say, certainty on my side. Or perhaps it is merely the strength of drink, as I did imbibe more than usual to both fortify myself and forestall the now inevitable interview. "Do you truly expect that I will accept that your collection of vagrants represents the pinnacle of civilization?"

I should know by now that his smile means I am in for another assault. It will be a quiet offensive, but ruthless in its calculation. He sips his tea gently before he speaks.

"You believed the measure of a civilization is...what, the enlightenment of average citizens?" I try not to stare at his smooth satiny vest coat, his artfully raised little finger.

"Well, something like that. Surely as a society becomes larger, more complex, individuals must agree to a coda, rules of conduct which all people accept and agree to live by, a set of underlying moral values which binds the people. A covenant among equals."

"And, it follows then, in a truly civilized society, everyone would abide by these codes?" He says it with a knowing nod.

"Of course!"

"My dear, how wonderfully ignorant of you! How simply and sweetly naive. I must impress, however, that a civilization is more than a mere society based on the level of its integrated complexity. From all histories, those societies which consider themselves civilized do so not on the basis of higher moral conduct, but on the basis of higher moral codes."

"Just what I said." I can slap the table, resolute. At last, a victory! He merely waves his hand, like brushing away a bothersome fly.

"Not at all what you said. These are not those cultures that live by strict standards, to which they consciously adhere. No, these true civilizations are the ones who simply have more morality to discuss, to write down and lay claim to, not that they in actuality live by such mores. The more moral codes a people have, the more they have room to break those codes, leading to exciting and fulfilling lives."

"You mean, the more loopholes which can be found in a society’s laws, the more civilized they are?"

"Yes, just that. You are quick indeed!" I am not impressed by his version of compliment.

"So. You are saying that the more each individual finds ways to circumvent the moral code, the more immoral they can become, the more laws they can circumspectly break, that is the way you measure the progress of a civilization?"

"Naturally."

"That is ludicrous. Absolutely insane. Morality is a measure of a civilized people. Those who choose not to live morally, following an agreed upon set of rules, are totally uncivilized!" I know, at this point, I should rise from seat, I should storm out in righteous indignation.