gawd you're a genius.
I guess I hold that "civilization" is marked, axiomatically, by civility, which is life and liberty - affirming. Nothing else qualifies.
As you should. But not all civilizations are life affirming. Western civilization, or, if you prefer, American civilization, has fallen out of love with life to rape the womb. New York city aborts nearly 100,000 per year. Margaret Sanger Center in Manhattan is the largest abortion provider in New York, with 11,000 abortions performed a year. Do we still qualify? The U.S. in 2001 aborted over one million. It is still too early to tell if we will return to civilization.