%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 20 0 R 26 0 R ] /Count 3 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R /F6 13 0 R /F7 15 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 16 0 R /I2 17 0 R /I3 24 0 R /I4 25 0 R /I5 28 0 R /I6 29 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 18 0 R /GS2 19 0 R /GS3 22 0 R /GS4 23 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 1.0.2 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20241226165217+00'00') /ModDate (D:20241226165217+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1574 >> stream xWMo6W̱EߖnY(Z-n$Q%)ޟ-7(0bY 0 im7wdMIV]EߧAHw{_#WKѦ=[4 $ ]-eWGy:^fD' =>aw!xw(/#N0 1rq󈒏Aj$vm nq`0a08g3˘gcd6V$u^]Eڐ;ӧ"EalS ">pQLxY8 geKݙ>4ӥfMo+崹nj%/fA'9Y_JJ@'q^N(ԃ 0OXȿ,]MlҚC0 BdlD1:צz+eE 'IZ({E4)R:l#vZj={:Ka]9tCWY/q`9,we܎DkT4vMR;6j>&92@l}qfk~3V5 nQ,5_1Rrhad\PXyEKA#% |L$HSoĎ-溛-ϩOv2"6[{^hTP/MZ._Il.JR|`Xkj$YGm$dBdK=aU r7ȩTUJaQs[tc'䡑{)qisvc52ֻg7OUnIqA`8t(*rNvhts_F:s89Ze*G iG3g5 ^h{yqP>̋j11q7e8VqpN=~W6+Diݑ Jc Cw7$;mZ`xRE3H{^-;{-xN}|jYOA*|ƙE|xxy mǓ$jL"4m& Egw#:X|}zg#O[~LH]'R ?L endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F6 /BaseFont /Helvetica-BoldOblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 14 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F7 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 16 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 20 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 21 0 R >> endobj 21 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1866 >> stream xXM6ϯ1 9\NvcLH<["vo؀"k[*>Vz5ى؏ys]:O׊+Zucbc-a_#cdxL 4|i$ Kӣ2-;sC~uV F-k%…>#5]7&G >K21dԓt^2>1"LXoB3ZZxnzoRcҴD`Z1v? ¨mw%VA:$ݝQ, kS)(k K*eX;945lW  Z#>#+;=Ypl~ThoYϾڎ%-kӠ|αPtHFry5X'Z@q?s/79FlL T R s4;)0"6QQEJ2(9&GHo]TurKA㤗U&%_mrajH1/IL8N@-gϙ8 ЬwZ$P?\VXHB76>/%ٛ s$nDO @͖< Lg7nk'\'ʡ`=;8ΨQMNYK^fO Z cҲS^VS-?x>,~\vNb$8$y=̄veH 췃LAM<gdS+H6`s1}O^s0B3e )3 u]Hzd^8N|M\w߾tbKwg6wDQ/Vq}¥d3]$ެ7 9xm^Z4ؿ/P}]^x=CCww$Z"%tI7p篶Bf)JAׯߺp/iEfu%]y_F endstream endobj 22 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 23 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 24 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj 26 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 27 0 R >> endobj 27 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1090 >> stream xVM6ﯘc xe}Y{ -6"h+^?o(̵X%QÙ7oތ%+:SJZגi)UxXgi7khKFY; NG+^xuTw+4^&}/[zGX lы36߲#SmWIW18͠r^ڛ$$uq36o̔9Lf*t{S19=aZJbcVeRyn9XmhjibؚZ:GzG{YI$$-[d|G[hmR7u$$o1ot6|'vW\rc189YLJA\' n5Uɔ-&E9Q[uPl8y+}1 ]QT1djS$l^yP:>&iǓ''\rsi)B:/rݜ4gΙ}%`Df,؅7h{x8i DY ca*±9fAvTnX@UL#/J7ŵj3Z/T;ڇe>~d(BWPAY''28ųE=k-)@0Q7 _ ܌~ߔfUlq_cirR hQcaN-E{ 2%E4iH4(upQy؛SgΓvgFjc0~k[ (XMd()3V\nRBkg UDlE JO5c;MƣWShDJ&2.>Ī\6eLt?DL=XM3 &?c';RiaЎ^foc`bFz(a T0߼>deNeZ0~hul7)P9_>a}oVlTMlSŲ_}P} endstream endobj 28 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj xref 0 30 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000501 00000 n 0000000538 00000 n 0000000687 00000 n 0000000790 00000 n 0000002437 00000 n 0000002544 00000 n 0000002652 00000 n 0000002762 00000 n 0000002875 00000 n 0000002991 00000 n 0000003111 00000 n 0000003140 00000 n 0000003250 00000 n 0000008825 00000 n 0000009956 00000 n 0000010015 00000 n 0000010074 00000 n 0000010179 00000 n 0000012119 00000 n 0000012176 00000 n 0000012233 00000 n 0000017808 00000 n 0000018939 00000 n 0000019044 00000 n 0000020208 00000 n 0000025783 00000 n trailer << /Size 30 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[] >> startxref 26914 %%EOF On the Corner | Caring Magazine

Vol. #28

Grace Uncovered

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

On the Corner

November 6, 2007
4 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

Civility and civilization

by Robert Docter, Editor-In-Chief –

Civilization—you’ve come a long way, baby—but
you ain’t “there” yet.

civilization, n: an advanced state of human society, in which
a high level of culture, science, industry and government
has been reached.

Two blocks from my house a woman was jogging while pushing a stroller with two of her children in it. My daughters know the woman well. When she started moving past an alley a man with a gun jumped out and took all her jewelry.

In Los Angeles, a 12-year-old boy rolled across a street on his skateboard, was struck by a car and knocked unconscious in the street. The driver leaped out, looked at him, jumped back in his car and sped away.

In 2005, 35.1 million Americans lived in circumstances with low or very low food security. We waste about 50 billion pounds of food each year.

Approximately 8 percent of America’s families—37 million people—live in poverty.

More than 10.5 million children under age 5 died last year from disease, malnutrition, neglect and other crimes.

Building a civilization is a process. It is a movement toward becoming more civilized. We have, in this nation, many of the characteristics of a civilized society.

Social organization
We have a high order of social organization, institutions that protect us, that attempt to refine us and educate us. We have an unwritten set of social norms based on the values of the common culture. The home is the primary social institution assigned responsibility for instruction in these basic values. Because many of these values have their roots in the Judaic/Christian ethic, the church assumes responsibility for this instruction as well.

We have a commitment to science that seeks to find ways to explore ideas, places, the earth itself and its place in the universe, and the nature of natural order and law.

We have strong endorsement of the arts and humanities. On the whole, we are literate and understand the contributions of these disciplines to our lives.

We are personally industrious and hardworking as a people. We are also highly judgmental, critical to a fault, and very often simply downright lazy.

None of this means we are civil with one another, that we are civilized in our interpersonal affairs, or that we are successful civilization builders.

We tend to raise our children in much the same way we were raised. This means that too many of us replicate the same mistakes, build the same negative behavior patterns, create the same fears and dreams, model infidelity with our spouse, introduce impolite speech, create rigid roles, reduce expectation, and successfully create children with negative self-esteem.

Our education system has deteriorated to a place that teaches “subjects” instead of a place where living goes on and people become civilized—where it is more important to measure what is learned than it is to learn itself—where teachers stand and talk and children sit at desks and listen—where children are uninvolved in deciding what or how or when to learn. If we are going to live in a free society, people need to know the meaning of freedom.

I think it was Victor Frankl who once suggested that we should have a Statue of Liberty on one coast and a Statue of Responsibility on the other coast.

One coast is taken care of—who will build one for us on Alcatraz?

Frankly, I worry a little about some churches—some BIG churches. Their sense of certainty about the nature of God seems to fly in the face of biblical teaching and to eliminate faith as the vehicle for coping with our doubt. Our churches often seem more anxious to root out sin than to teach altruism and Christian love.

System of laws
We have a system of laws based on the Constitution that identifies the limits of power assumed by the state and grants certain specific “rights” for all the people. The Constitution assumes that responsible people will conduct their lives in a “civilized” manner and will use their individual liberty recognizing the rights of others.

An elected legislature specifies certain limits to our freedom. When individuals violate those laws, a judicial system determines the guilt or innocence of the individual, and, if appropriate, metes out punishment. A high court judges the appropriateness of these “limits” against the rights granted by the Constitution.

We have a system of government based on a representative democracy in which both the executive and the representatives are chosen by the people. The legislature makes the laws and the executive administers the law.

Too often the motives of the legislator writing the laws are more for personal or political gain rather than for the common good. Too often, the process fails because of private negotiations with other legislators having very little to do with the worth of the legislation. Over time, the results are ineffective in achieving legislative goals of representing people and sacrificed to goals of getting re-elected.

Being civil
It seems to me, the culture needs to establish goals that result in people being “civil” to one another. Civility seems to be a lost art. The state can’t legislate such matters as compassion, altruism, kindness, civility, common courtesy, social norms of polite social intercourse, valuing equality with the same fervor we value freedom. To achieve this, we must understand the multicultural nature of this society. We must provide opportunities for people to identify what they value and why. They must also be questioned about how that value fits into life in a civilized social order. We must encourage media to portray civility in a manner that can still attract viewers through the power of its drama.

Questions
Am I just whistling in the wind on this subject? Is improvement even possible?
Do you know what your values are?

Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like