We live in a modern country in a modern age, and have all the modern accouterments that one could possibly think of, available for our use, and they are used. We have toothbrushes for our teeth, warm water and soap for our baths, indoor plumbing for our convenience, as well as our privacy, air conditioning and heat at the touch of a finger, and all sorts of body odor camouflage items available for our usage, to mention just a few of our basic bodily conveniences. This means that never have Americans had it so good at being able to present themselves as clean citizens, which while undoubtedly having its merits, should not be confused with "cleanliness is next to Godliness" which might work as an incentive for little children, but falls on deaf ears of adults, who simply just like to smell and look good.
Unfortunately, the fact that most people are capable of both dressing neatly and behaving politely, does not necessarily mean that they are, in fact, more civilized from generations of old that struggled just to make ends meet. In point of fact, the real civilization of a nation cannot be determined by mere surface looks, or other facile clues, but is determined by actual actions of its population. In this regard, the civilization of a nation is put to a far sterner and more meaningful test.
We have all read books that point out that man stripped of his common markers, can easily degenerate back into savage actions, seen in the example of "Lord of the Flies," and we have learned to our dismay via the Nazi atrocities how easy it was for soldiers, administrative personnel, and doctors to follow or to even implement orders that disregarded or disposed of the common humanity of us all, and so too have same replicated this same sort of mindset in the "Stanford Prison Experiment" and in the real word, when we witnessed the disturbing images and behavior by prison guards atthe Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Part of the fundamental problem that America must deal with is that while obedience has its place, especially with regards to little children and the protection of such; is that obedience and submission to authority outside of the family structure is problematic, in actuality, even within the family structure it can be problematic, especially if the person or person(s) in authority lacks self control, empathy, competent judicial reasoning, and a working moral compass. The thing is, if, what is passed on to society, if, what is passed on to your family, if, what is passed on to your citizens, is that it is the citizen's duty to obey the State, to obey authority, and never to question but to simply obey; than that country and its citizens are sheep without a good shepherd. It is, instead, the highest duty of all citizens to think, recognizing that our Creator has created us with a free will and not as puppets answering to a puppeteer.
That is why a thinking man will question authority; in fact, a thinking man will question God, Himself, and even, if necessary, to wrestle with God, as did Jacob. The mark of a truly civilized society is how it treats, interacts, and behaves towards the poorest of the poor, the wretched, the refuse, and the storm tossed, because until you can see yourself in each of these people's eyes, you are not civilized, no matter how clean-cut and aromatically pleasing you may appear.