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Reversing
the Decline of Community
Public Comments
In my capacity as president of WBSI and
Executive Director of the Institute's International Leadership
Forum, let me welcome you to the Public forum organized to discuss
"Reversing
the Decline of Community"
We hope you will find the ILF Fellows' dialogue interesting and
informative, as well as the comments made by other members of the
public, and that you will be stimulated to enter your own views.
To our knowledge, the ILF represents the first
time that a think tank composed entirely of highly influential
leaders has been mobilized, the first time that such a
deliberative body on policy formation has been created as a
virtual organization, the first time its ongoing verbatim dialogue
has been made available to the public, and the first time that the
public has been able to contribute to a concurrent discussion
designed to further inform the ILF recommendations. So we hope you
will bear with us as we attempt the journey through this new
territory, and please give us your suggestions for improvement.
Comments
RDC
01:
Kip Winsett
Date: 7/27/2001
Time: 5:16:25 PM
Comments:
Comments 2:144 through 2:152 seem to me to be crucial in
developing a "policy" with regard to the Decline of
Community. The cultural diversity which has resulted from the
increase of migrant population is one which I think needs to be
better addressed. While the recent immigrants do bring community
& family values with them, they typically exhibit for some few
generations a xenophobia that precludes their inclusion in the
larger community. Each group tends to stick together thus
remaining strangers to other groups. Somehow we need to develop
ways of embracing the "strangers". For many individuals
moving out their insular groups is exceedingly difficult. And the
longer they remain apart from the community at large the more
distrustful the community at large becomes of them.
At one end of the extreme are the gated communities of the
successful, the well-to-do, while at the other end are the ghettos
of the poor, the struggling. As these increase in numbers I think
we all begin to suffer from a greater sense of separation from
those who live near us geographically - but light years away in
other regards. It seems that this sense of separation becomes a
part of us and makes it even more difficult for us to connect,
except in a limited, fashion with people other than the ones whom
we already know and trust - or the ones recommended to us by those
we trust.
It just seems to me that there is way too much separation based
upon superficial differences. Young vs. old, Latino vs. Anglo,
white vs. black, rich vs. middle class, right wing vs. left wing,
business vs. labor, pro choice vs. pro life, heterosexual vs.
homosexual, etc. ad nauseum. I am all for the diversity but I
think we need to find ways to get past the resulting separation. A
successful community simply must include whatever is at hand.
Holland and Curitiba both seem to have accomplished much in this
regard.
RDC
02:
Kip Winsett
Date: 8/12/2001
Time: 10:02:59 PM
Comments:
In re: John Craven's 2:169) 09-AUG-2001 22:37.
I think John has hit the nail right on the head. The essence of
community is this "person" to that "person".
It is the inability to relate to other "living, breathing
persons" that causes a sense of separateness - or
non-community. More importantly, I believe, it is the failure to
embrace the responsibility that belongs to so many people who have
the ability to bridge gaps. John certainly had the choice of
including or excluding those 2 young people. I heartily applaud
his choice to include them. And I heartily applaud their choice to
join him. There is always a risk inherent in relating with others.
Relating on-line in order to truly build a sense of community
requires that we take that same risk - or it has no value. I
greatly appreciate the consistent "I am this person"
quality of John's comments in the forum. The question seems to me
to truly be "how do WE as individuals who understand the
fundamental importance of community to the health of society's
members go about increasing a sense of community.
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