PRIMITIVES? Some Cross-Cultural Reflections Not creating synthetic waste or polluting air, soil, or lake Lacking notions of private ownership of land or beliefs that monetary profit makes life grand Having no machines to roam through space nor propaganda tools to spread their faith They're labeled "primitive" . . . yet . . . civilizations taking haughty stands soon enough amount to nothing but sand Observe air, earth, water, and space noticing the cycles of each day then reflect - "Should tiny ants ever boast about being great?" Sam: (frowning) Natural things also decay – this poem isn't logical. Ted: Agreed. However, so-called "primitive" societies leave less imprint. Too many modern inventions take so long to decay. As a result, we're choking in waste. Terri: In that sense, our whole civilization is primitive. Tim: Perhaps so-called 'civilized' cultures should learn from those that are often labelled 'primitive'. ================================================================================= from _AmeriSong: Poetry, Art, & Dialogs about Amerika_ by T Newfields SUMMARY: Some thoughts about the notion of primitivism and cultural advancement. KEYWORDS: indigenous peoples, primitivism, Western arrogance, deconstructing the notion of social progress. Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955) Begun: 2005 in Tokyo, Japan / Finished: 2020 in Yokohama, Japan Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted < LAST https://www.tnewfields.info/AmeriSong/req.htm TOC https://www.tnewfields.info/AmeriSong/index.html NEXT > https://www.tnewfields.info/AmeriSong/occupy.htm TRANSLATIONS DEUTSCH: https://www.tnewfields.info/de/ur.htm ESPAÑOL: https://www.tnewfields.info/es/primi.htm FRANÇAIS: https://www.tnewfields.info/fr/primi.htm NIHONGO: https://www.tnewfields.info/jp/genshi.htm ZHŌNGWÉN: https://www.tnewfields.info/zh/yuanshi.htm