Margaret Mead, the famous anthropologist...
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Margaret Mead, the famous anthropologist, was once asked what she believed was the first sign of civilization. The person asking the question probably expected her to answer by saying that civilization began when the first tools were made or when crops were planted for the first time. But instead, Margaret Mead said that, in her opinion, the earliest sign of civilization is some ancient remains that show that a broken leg was allowed to heal. A person might wonder what a broken leg has to do with civilization. But Margaret Mead points out that back in prehistoric times, if you had broken a leg, that meant that you could not hunt, you could not work -- you could do almost nothing to help yourself. In other words, if you had a broken leg, you were nothing but a liability. But apparently those remains indicate that instead of allowing that person with the broken leg to die, the other people must have cared for the injured person. And that act of compassion, that act of serving, Margaret Mead says, is the first sign of civilization. To care for others, to care even for those who seem to be nothing more than a liability, is what this passage speaks of.
-- Bowen
-- Bowen
