RECENT STORIES

Westminster Police: Prowler caught ( YourHub.com )
Free foot clinic hosted by Road Runner Sports ( Melissa Whitaker )
Don’t Let Foodborne Illness Spoil the Holidays ( Kodi Bryant )
Blotter: Man harasses ex-wife's boyfriend ( YourHub.com )
Despite economy, $63,000 raised for CASA ( Lisandra Gonzales )

share a story | more postings »

YourHub.com \\ Westminster \\ Stories \\ Sound Off \\ Write a Column

Civic culture

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

NEXT › ‹ PREVIOUS

Contributed by: DR. SEAN REIF D.C. on 6/9/2006

A common civic culture is strong enough to balance and sustain individual freedom amid a sense of obligation to the common good.

Community leaders must advocate a civic culture. This may have been unnecessary in the past, when the community meant cooperation with goal oriented ACTIONS. Members worked together to do the many things now done by PAID EXPERTS. Exact alignment of philosophies and values was less significant than a mutual willingness to help, and a successful community was seen as essential to individual and family success.

Rugged individualism and individual responsibility and accountability have always conflicted with community ideal, and we will continue to do so. What is different is a diminishing of the clarity of Northglenn's consensual ideals and values.

Leaders must foster a tact in dealing with differences. Maintaining and enhancing community will require a willingness to acknowledge relevant differences, but will value them differently. Those that can expand the communities vision and contribute to its success should be embraced. Those that are unlikely to affect the community or capable of harming the community or its members should be rejected. Success requires great discretion.

I'm a great believer in change for the better, not for the worse. The world will continue to change in rapid and unexpected ways. Human beings will continue to form communities that excite our senses of obligation and commitment and PRIDE.

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story

Current Rating

Based on 2 user ratings.

Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

Thank you! Your comment has been updated.

Showing 1 of 1 comments

Submitted By: DR. SEAN REIF D.C.

posted on 5/20/2006 @ 12:26:52 PM

Rated Story

It is those simple moments that define who and what we are. We do not carry out our ideals by talking about them - we carry them out through our everyday actions. These everyday actions are the essence of fellowship - and the essence of service. And our everyday actions are also the essence of high ethical standards. One of the most important things we can do in the coming year is to set an example of the highest ethical standards and inspire our fellow Rotarians to do the same.

[Report as objectionable]

Showing 1 of 1 comments

CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

DR. SEAN REIF D.C.

THORNTON , CO

DR. SEAN REIF D.C. has posted 1087 stories and 1256 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. DR. SEAN REIF D.C. 's average story rating is 2.97.

view profile » view other postings from DR. SEAN REIF D.C. »

SAVE AND SHARE THIS STORY

STORY RSS FEEDS

All stories

All stories in Westminster

All stories by DR. SEAN REIF D.C.

WANT TO WRITE FOR YOURHUB.COM?

Want to see the stories you write and the photos you shoot featured in the YourHub.com Thursday print section available all over the Front Range and with home subscriptions of the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post? All you have to do is register, then post a story or column, start a blog or tell everyone what events are happening in town. We will print the best stories, columns, event listings, photos and blog entries in our print sections.

Loading Ad