Such are the ruins of what civilization has come to, though one might say that civilization is always in ruins, no matter where or when in history you would observe it, not least of all because humankind is a sort of spiritual ruin, or is ‘fallen’ as some would have it, so that our achievements in technology or science or art or medicine, or any other discipline where ‘progress’ is touted as some absolute good (as if, collectively, we could obtain to a state of contentment or satisfaction, and unlock the meaning of existence, or the mystery in which that meaning is shrouded, so long as we press far enough and wide enough our modes of investigation and discovery)…yes, so that all our achievements, however wonderful and useful, amount to little more than outward improvements to our lifestyle, and an increase in our knowledge (though not wisdom) and leisure, which seems most evident, no matter the era, in the disparities between the rich and the poor.