I’m not sure where civility resides in the human brain… and perhaps that’s because we are not cultivating it enough to get any images… Where do you think notions of courage and thoughtfulness and respect sit today…?
Well known writer and speaker, Catherine Crier called for a return to civility in her commencement speech at Case Western University in Connecticut and I was interested to read in her speech at the Huffington Post… how a value-driven life helps us to offer possibilities rather than “wag fingers at transgressors…” It was really a call to “change the circumstances that produce problems we face…”. Lack of civility is not new… Crier pointed to Mark Twain who found it curious that “physical courage should be so common in the world, and moral courage so rare.”
All right … it’s really back to the CEO at Know More Media… Hal Haladay’s notion of the “Power of One…” which I’ve already quoted several times…
When Catherine Crier asked graduates to “Choose wisely, because our future is literally in your hands…”, I think she was saying that we have done ourselves in as far as civility goes… and only Hal’s notion of power of one can begin to bring us back…. Where do you think civility sits in the brain… and how do you think we can get more of it up and running…?
To me civility is something that begins from birth. It begins with the way we treat our own children with love and resepect. When children are nurtured well with excellent family traits such as hospitality and serving others less fortunate, these definitely become part of a "mindset." From what I have been reading in your blog, Ellen, a person who has not been so fortunate to have such an upbringing, can begin to build these by practicing these traits to change old patterns.
Civility is the opposite of war, power and selfishness and begins with the mindset each of us takes about our place in this world.
Posted by: Robyn McMaster | May 23, 2006 7:40 AM | Permalink to Comment