This Historic Turning Point

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We stand today at a moment of reckoning for America and for humanity.  We would do well to think carefully about the future in which we wish to live.  Whatever our personality, philosophy, or religious belief, we have an unavoidable choice to make. 

Either we retreat into ourselves, accepting what is given and assuming it is beyond our control, or we will step forward to engage with the challenges as constructively and responsibly as possible. 

The choice we make will be profoundly significant—for ourselves, for our communities, and for America. 

We have entered a time of severe and interacting crises.  We are confronted with momentous structural change—as well as the consequences of human error. 

Yes, many mistakes have been made, and many have resulted from our failure to understand what is happening.  Mistakes are inevitable when human civilization collides with its practical limits. 

We are confronted with the need to reconsider our assumptions, our way of thinking.  The present crisis involves wide-ranging technical, social, and moral challenges.

The world is experiencing structural change, which impacts our society and our lives in numerous ways.

Economic instability has been growing for decades.  The rich are getting richer while the rest are losing ground.

Social disorder is accompanied by irresponsible behavior and increasing violence.  Collapsing mental health reveals itself with mass-murder, suicide, and interpersonal conflict.

A steady erosion of trust has coincided with disorder and dislocation.  The widespread loss of hopefulness, compassion, and sense of personal responsibility are all emblematic. 

Social degradation encourages impulsive and sometimes aggressive behavior, often based on misinformation or unexamined assumptions.

As individual citizens we are limited in our ability to respond constructively to such extraordinary and disturbing conditions.

We can no longer depend on governments or institutions or organized partisan factions to provide for local safety and security.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed.  Yet there are many things we can do, and which each of us is capable of doing.

It will only be possible to respond effectively if we prepare ourselves with our neighbors.  Only in authentic community—true community—will security become possible.

Only in engaged personal relationships that transcend our differences can trust be learned and collaborative action become possible.

We have differences.  If we allow them to come between us, we will fail.  Diversity is our primary source of strength, and we must learn to make it work for us.

The greater the challenges before us, the more we will need a diversity of experience and perspective, knowledge and skills—to seek safety with our neighbors and to make it through hard times. 

We are capable of doing this.  But we can only succeed by doing it together, united by our humanity, regardless of our religion, our politics, or the shade of our skin. 

To shun diversity will be to invite total loss.

History testifies that the human soul has a purpose that transcends hardship and conquers pain.  We have the capacity to actualize the inborn promise of a just, dependable, and prosperous future.

I come to you with the premise that safety, well-being, and civil order all depend on the foundation of local community.  This is the ground of personal identity and the place where we belong.

The only future we can count on will be found in the communities we create.

Tom

My book is “Liberty and the American Idea: Rebuilding the Foundations” by Tom Harriman.  It is available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other book sellers.  And, it will help.

You may watch for the next post on or about April 1.

Trust When It Matters

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For many decades economic deterioration and faltering social order have coincided for Americans with a steady loss of trust.  This affliction has come to degrade almost every aspect of American life.

Dispelling distrust is not easy.  It calls for respectful interpersonal dialogue and a willingness to live and work together.  Otherwise, nothing will be possible.

Yet, we resist dialogue.  We seem to be unwilling or unable to talk with each other.

What is to be done?

Trustworthy relationships are only possible if we allow for their possibility.  If we are determined to resist this degradation, the place to start is within ourselves.  We mustn’t wait for the world to change for us.

It is actually possible to live our lives with a disciplined commitment to truthfulness and moral integrity.  And the truth is that others are attracted to this way of being. 

Honesty with a pleasant face will be recognized by those who we will care to know.  We will find dependable friends and neighbors.

But we should not demand immediate success in the world as it is.  Integrity is its’ own reward.  A commitment to trustworthiness, especially one sustained in a fragmented society, is the means for living with authenticity.

The challenge is two-fold: First to be truthful even when no one else is watching, and then to slowly and consistently demonstrate honesty, truthfulness, and caring to those around us.

Many of you are aware that I have been writing about the loss of trust in America for quite some time.  It will be necessary to re-establish trustworthiness as the foundation for the character and prosperity of American society.

It will be in local neighborhoods and communities where the healing of distrust can realistically begin—and where it is most needed. 

When we face hard times, we will need dependable neighbors.  When the going gets tough, trustworthiness matters.

Americans are not accustomed to addressing this need.  As important as it is for our safety and well-being, few seem to have the vision and courage to build supportive relationships.

When we engage in genuine relationships, we gradually bring trust to life in ever-widening circles.  Trustworthiness becomes real as we experience dependability.  We want it because we need it. 

There are no shortcuts. 

Building a stable, prosperous society will take as long as intelligent and determined people need to make it so.

Tom

Please note: My book is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers.  It is “Liberty and the American Idea:  Rebuilding the Foundations” by Tom Harriman.

You may watch for the next post on or about March 1.

Between Past and Future

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We are living through a great transition in the human story, a fraught passage between a technically advanced but socially degraded past, and a potentially coherent, sustainable, and civilized future. 

The distress we are experiencing is very real.  The challenges we face might appear recent, but they have been intensifying for decades.  The crisis deepens, but it is not new.

Our destiny as a nation and as human beings, can never be fully realized if we fail to know and understand ourselves.  The future we build will emerge from the past with the spirit of trustworthiness and responsibility, forged by the God-given capacities of mind and soul with which we are born.

In the choice between light and darkness, there is no other way.

The present appears chaotic and the horizon is obscured.  We can expect hardship to worsen.  But hopelessness is not acceptable to the human will.

We are accompanying one another on a long journey—a maturing experience for both humanity and for ourselves, as we advance from alienation and isolation to genuine community.

The future will be made real when we make it so.  We have a unique place in the universe: We are intelligent, perceptive, constructive, and caring.

Local community is the foundation of civilization and the core principle of the American experiment.  For those who are uncertain, this is made clear in my book: “Liberty and the American Idea: Rebuilding the Foundations.” (See below.)

We do not need someone telling us what to think or do.  A few friends and neighbors gathered around the kitchen table—listening respectfully, thinking constructively, and taking initiative—will get you started.

Others will be attracted to this nucleus of activity by your generosity of spirit, by the fragrance of trustworthiness, and by compelling practical need. 

It will be necessary to respond to oncoming challenges in a manner we are not accustomed to.  We must remain even-tempered in the face of fear, dishonesty, and disagreeable behavior.

Good will and ethical integrity will prevail in the end—because only these have lasting substance.  Constructive action will be initiated by citizens who are ready to engage meaningfully with those they differ with. 

You might ask why authentic community welcomes diversity.  The answer is simple.  The future will require problem-solving.  Communities will depend on an abundance of experience, perspective, and learned skills to get through the hard times ahead. 

If we avoid those who differ from us in religion or politics, education or ethnicity, we do so at our peril.  Indeed, our greatest resource will be friends and neighbors who have known hardship and have prevailed.

Having steady hands nearby when we need them is a blessing.  And, loyalty does not come in gift-wrapping.

Humankind is not an experiment.  We are not a mistake.  Centuries of hard work and loving determination have brought us here.

As human beings and as communities of caring, we are capable of overcoming the challenges created by human nature—our energetic spirit, an inquisitive mind, an over-active imagination, and the inevitable confusion that comes with a lack of maturity. 

The weaknesses of dishonesty and selfishness are the failures of individual persons, not weaknesses in the character of the human race.  Pain and suffering are afflictions, not ultimate destiny. 

History testifies that the human soul has a purpose that transcends hardship and conquers pain.  We have a responsibility to actualize the inborn promise of a just, dependable, and prosperous future.

I come to you with the premise that safety, well-being, and civil order all depend on a firm foundation of local communities.  This is the ground of personal identity, the place where we belong.

The world will experience extremes of disorder and social degradation in the coming years.  We must respond with truthfulness, trustworthiness, and dependability.

The only future we can count on will be realized in the communities we create.

I wish you strength, harmony, and meaning in the new year!

Tom

The new book is “Liberty and the American Idea: Rebuilding the Foundations” by Tom Harriman.  It is available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other book sellers.

You may watch for the next post on or about February 1. 

A Future with Hope

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For more than two hundred years the United States has stood before the world as a beacon of hope, as a source of creative energy and as an evolving expression of political freedom, social diversity, and economic vitality.  People everywhere have been attracted to the vision it represents.  Yet, the extraordinary challenges confronting the American people today mark a turning point and a defining test of America’s place in history. 

Few have expected what we are seeing now.  Values, assumptions, expectations have all been disrupted.  Even so, America remains blessed with a constitutional order that respects the individual, seeks to protect both minorities and majorities, and makes room for diversity, innovation and creativity.

The genius of the United States Constitution lies in a simplicity that imposes minimal restraint and allows maximum freedom—all the while requiring moral responsibility and functional cooperation.

The unique character of the Constitution reflects the recognition of the Founders that “the pursuit of happiness” depends on the active pursuit of basic virtues: Truthfulness, trustworthiness, fairmindedness, forbearance, and a prudence that respects the interdependence of all the virtues. 

The Founders spoke of this numerous times.  It is written into the fabric of the American experiment. 

They did their part.  Our responsibility confronts us now.

We are living at a pivotal moment.  We face unsettling questions and a multitude of crises.  Will civil order be torn apart by distrust, resentment, and frustration?

Will the nation survive as the constitutional republic envisioned by the Founders?  Do we have the fortitude and grit to learn the lessons that can lead to a genuine American renewal?

What has happened to us?  Why do we feel so isolated, and so vulnerable to dysfunctional governance?

The dominance of corporate mass society has led to the destruction of coherent communities across the United States.  This has had a major impact on our personal lives, on civil order, on social stability and resilience.

Americans have been set adrift from the traditional source of identity and support once provided by cohesive local communities.  Few of us understand what we have lost.

The American Conservative Movement, founded soon after 1950, understood that “the quest for community” represents a fundamental human need.  Local communities have served as the foundation of civilization for thousands of years.

This inheritance has been lost, and with it the foundations of stability and well-being.

Without authentic community and the diverse institutions of civil society that community would support, Americans are vulnerable to the dominance of monied interests and centralized government.

Healthy communities do more than support safety and stability.  They provide the means for resolving problems and meeting shared needs.  They offer alternatives to dependency on government.

In stressful times reciprocity and collaboration become ever more important.

Local neighborhoods, communities, and networks of communities organized with constructive purpose, will ensure that the American identity is held in trust through the hard times ahead. 

Community will not protect us from uncertainty.  What it can do, and will do if we are determined, is open the door to the potential we already possess—dependable neighbors, mutual assistance, practical security, and home-grown economic renewal on a regional scale. 

In my new book, I offer practical guidance for making community work.  You are invited to consider a future we can all respect and believe in.

It will not be easy.  Responsibility never is.  With loyalty, discipline, and determination I submit to you that something far better, far nobler, something perhaps beyond our present ability to imagine, will emerge from the present turmoil.

The book is “Liberty and the American Idea: Rebuilding the Foundations,” by Tom Harriman.  It is available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other book sellers.

May you find harmony, strength, and generosity of spirit in this holiday season!

Tom

Please watch for the next post on or about January 2. 

The Book is Published

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The book I have promised is finally published.  I apologize for the time this has taken.  I needed to get it right.  It is “Liberty and the American Idea: Rebuilding the Foundations” by Tom Harriman.  It is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers.

Amazon is providing an unusually generous preview or “sample,” which includes the entire preface, introduction, and first chapter.

Regular readers of this blog will find the book familiar, yet detailed, thorough, and coherent.  I begin the introduction with the following words:

“Is there an ‘American idea,’ a shared understanding of the character and meaning embodied in American history? Would you like to think there is, or could be?

“What would you like to see accepted or discarded among the values, qualities, or attributes that contribute to our national character?

“While I am an American addressing Americans with this question, it is not my place to assert an answer.  Rather, I offer a brief review of ideas and influences that have made the United States what it is, followed by an invitation: A practical long-term strategy to make authentic dialogue actually possible among concerned citizens.”

The introduction goes on to explain the structure of the book.  Readers will find the proposed strategy supported by careful explanations and detailed guidance.  Dangers and stumbling-blocks are discussed frankly. 

This is a book about responsible citizenship and constructive action.

The preface to the book might also interest you.  Contributed by a distinguished historian and Professor of American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, it harkens back to the foundations of the American Republic:

“’These are times that try men’s souls,’ Thomas Paine declared in ‘The American Crisis,’ urging patriots to rally during the darkest days of the Revolutionary War in 1776. In ‘Liberty and the American Idea’ Tom Harriman issues a similar call to action, urging Americans to work together to confront the deep challenges facing the nation today.

“Harriman’s book offers a two-part approach. First, he provides an unflinching diagnosis of the historical, social, and economic forces that have brought us to this critical juncture.  

“He [surveys] the erosion of civil society effected by ideological partisanship, ethical incoherence, rampant materialism, environmental pressures, and media disinformation that divides the nation and weakens its capacity to solve common problems effectively….

“However, unlike many appraisals of our ills, this book is also dedicated to providing constructive solutions and strategies for how to rebuild a functioning community life. It is a sincere plea to all citizens of goodwill to take pragmatic steps to restore a shattered social trust.”

I look forward to hearing from readers of the blog as we engage constructively in building an American future we can trust and believe in.

Tom

Regular readers can watch for the next post on or about December 1.

I expect to build a new website to better facilitate continuing dialogue.  I want to hear from you.  The URL will remain unchanged: http://www.freedomstruth.net.

Safety in a Fractured World

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Americans have been living in the wilderness of corporate-dominated mass society for more than half a century.  We are accustomed to it.  But do we understand that things have not always been this way?

We accept our isolation in the emptiness of mass society because we know of nothing else.  Without authentic community, many of us do not even know our neighbors.

Do we really want to accept the insecurity and poverty of opportunity this imposes on us?  What does it mean to be without a home in genuine community?

Communities have served as the foundations of civilization for thousands of years.  Grounded in a place and anchored by dependable relationships, they have provided the basis for security and well-being. 

What happened?

There are some things we know deep in our hearts.  I think it is time to step back from disorder and degradation and to think carefully about what we truly know.

There is no greater security to be found than in real concern for each other’s well-being.  Safety is earned with commitment among neighbors.  There can be no freedom, no stability, without personal respect and responsibility.

Yes, we have a great many differences.  Our physical bodies and social circumstances are various.  Personal experience and perspective are always unique. 

But every person—our heart and soul, our self, our inner being—is absolutely the same.  We have been made this way.

Knowing this, understanding this, is the ticket to safety.

With our knowledge and experience, our skills and viewpoint, our readiness for responsibility, everyone can contribute to authentic community.

As our world comes apart, we will need one another.

And there is a silver lining waiting to be discovered:  What could be more rewarding than to find acceptance and welcome in a society as richly diverse as ours?

This discovery has a challenge, though: Someone needs to take the first step.  No one can respond until they are touched.

Neighbors need neighbors to actually be neighbors!

Listen, my friends: We must be confident in our own courage, knowing in our hearts that we will be ok when we step into responsibility.  Generosity of spirit is its own protection.

Many young people already know this—that their true purpose is not only realized in bettering themselves, but also in contributing to the life of society.

How long will it take us older folks to realize this is equally true for all of us?

No one is asking us to change our values or views.  This is not necessary.  We are who we are.  We simply need to wake up.  Taking initiative is empowering.

Problem-solving only becomes possible when we are ready to listen, to understand, to engage constructively.  Communities where differences can be set aside are communities that seek to build a safer, more dependable world.  

We know we have to do this together.  We cannot stay isolated.  Without constructive purpose we will join a downward spiral into darkness and degradation.

Neighborhoods are not safe places for opinionated conflict.  Neighbors depend on a forgiving attitude, on respectful dialogue and genuine friendship.

We must be determined to build trust and create safety.  Only then can we reasonably turn our attention to solving the ills that plague the wider world.

Tom

Regular readers can look for the next post on or about November 1.

My new book, “Liberty and the American Idea,” has now been published and is available from Amazon and other booksellers.  Amazon is providing an unusually large sample, including the preface, introduction, and first chapter.   Search for “Tom Harriman.” 

The Two Faces of Freedom

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Americans are a freedom-loving people.  But we do not often think about what this means.  Freedom means different things to different people.  At this extraordinary moment in our nation’s history, it might be wise to consider what we understand it to mean.

Two distinct views of freedom have emerged during the past two centuries. 

One is simply the idea that we should be free to do or to be what we are able to do or to be without human interference.  The second is the idea of having full control over our own initiative and purpose as self-directed individuals.

These two concepts seem quite similar at first glance, but they differ substantially in their implications.

The first involves the absence of coercion—the wish simply to be left alone.  It asks that we be assured of a minimum area of personal freedom in such manner that our humanity is not denied or degraded.

Recognizing the potential for personal freedom to impact negatively on the freedom of others, this view seeks freedom for the many.  It asks only that we be guaranteed a reasonable measure of completely free space around ourselves.

Perhaps we would also agree that, at the very least, the liberty of religion, opinion, expression, and property need to be protected from arbitrary interference.

The second concept is quite different.  This view insists on unrestricted self-assertion and absolute control of one’s own life regardless of the consequences this imposes on others.

Deriving from the will to control one’s own life and destiny, the second concept has significant consequences for society.

Clearly those seeking such liberty perceive themselves as responsible persons possessed of good judgment and perhaps exceptional wisdom, who are able to make choices based solely on their own ideas and purposes.

However, given the natural human resistance to rational and moral limits, this attitude can easily disrupt the equilibrium in communities, or in society as a whole.

These two concepts of freedom have come into serious conflict with one another over the course of the last two centuries.

An insistence that we should be free to do as we wish cannot be exercised in isolation. It readily evolves into a belief that we may have the right to influence or control the lives of other people.

It is convenient to assume that we know best, and some people think they know the true interests of other people better than those people do themselves.

This view gained traction during the 19th century, hitching a ride with the powerful Enlightenment belief that all of reality must ultimately be harmonious, and that science and reason would give humankind knowledge of a single unified truth.

It followed, therefore, that fully rational thinkers would never disagree and that conflicting values or truths were ultimately impossible.

Consequently, a number of well-known thinkers became convinced that if reason and rationality demand that our values must coincide in a free and “just” society, they must be made to coincide by any means necessary.

The historian of ideas, Isaiah Berlin has written about this concern in his famous essay, “Two Concepts of Liberty.”  He reports that Enlightenment philosophers became convinced that the better educated members of society had a right and responsibility to create and maintain a “free” society.

They believed we should do for citizens what they would do for themselves if they possessed the rationality and competence to understand their own best interest.

Thus, political philosophy rationalized the idea that it can be valid to restrain people in their own interest.

In this extraordinary view, writes Isaiah Berlin, “freedom is not freedom to do what is irrational, or stupid, or wrong.  To force empirical selves into the right pattern is no tyranny, but liberation.”

“Liberty,” he continues, “so far from being incompatible with authority, becomes virtually identical with it.”

Needless to say, this problem raises substantial concerns about our understanding of justice, morality, and governance.

Can it ever be justified or appropriate to place pressure on citizens for being, in our view, “irrational?” 

It was not long before this idealistic absurdity led to the nightmares of totalitarian despotism and total war in the 20th century. 

Tom

Regular readers can look for the next post on or about October 1. My forthcoming book is “Liberty and the American Idea,” subtitled “Rebuilding the Foundations.”  It is now in the hands of my publisher and will be available at Amazon and other booksellers very soon.  Sample chapters can be found at the top of the homepage.

Responding With Courage

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It can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the multitude of crises converging on our world and our lives.  How can we respond constructively?  There is always someone to blame.  Conflict and antagonism rule the day.  But the problems are real, hardship threatens our future, and safety is a growing concern. 

Those who understand what responsibility means will find ways to make a difference, and the most effective place to do so is in our local communities. This is where problem-solving matters most, where practical experience and skills are essential.  We need to know and trust our neighbors—all our neighbors.

It has been said that responsibility involves the “ability-to-respond,” but there is more to it than that.  How do we identify what needs to be done?  How can we possibly work with people we don’t know or understand?

Only when people listen to each other, start talking about shared problems, and try to collaborate, can we begin to seek security.  Are we willing to do this?

We face a changing reality that is becoming more challenging every day.  When we are ready to work together—serving the needs of families, of community and society—a dependable future becomes possible. 

Authentic community is a well-spring of trust, and we must be determined to make it so.  While our perceptions and understanding are inevitably limited, we know that honesty, truthfulness, and forbearance are essential. 

Our ability to act, to influence, to control our material destiny are all constrained, but we can set our hearts and minds to the foundation of trustworthiness.  Holding fast to this, our confidence can grow and be tested meaningfully. 

I will suggest here what might be a new idea for some of you.  Please give it consideration.

I believe that personal integrity depends on our navigating successfully within the boundary of an ultimate and immutable order—a first order that forms the basis for justice and morality. I cannot prove this, but perhaps you can see it.  I assure you that any endeavor which misperceives or ignores the underlying presence of fundamental order will come to naught.

The extent to which our actions and relationships are consistent with the ultimate ground of being will determine the extent to which we are capable of success.  Without it, the world slides toward darkness and dissolution.

If this is difficult for you believe, you can still choose to live consistently with it as an ideal, because justice and morality will always serve integrity. Let’s think about responsibility as our response to a dependable order: Confirming, reassuring, effective.  Responsibility works, even when nothing else works.

The covenant we have with one another is not political or religious or cultural.  It is human and it is American.  A trustworthy future will not be perfect, but it will be as safe as we can make it.

Tom

Regular readers can look for the next post on or about September 1.

My forthcoming book, “Liberty and the American Idea,” is now in the hands of my publisher. It will be available soon.  Several sample chapters can be found at the top of the homepage.

American Values, American Identity

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‘Making America strong again’ is an idea that has real meaning.  The strength of any nation or community depends on the diversity of knowledge, experience, and perspective that makes it so.  Sameness doesn’t fly.  A range of available resources and information is essential. 

While our strength as a nation has always been founded upon diversity, our differences have also been the source of contentiousness.  At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787, the American Founders were acutely aware of this inevitable dynamic.

Among our many differences, Americans are perhaps most challenged by a diversity of values.  And values are a very sensitive matter.

It is natural to think our personal values are normal, ethical, and unassailable.  They are so much a part of who we are that we rarely think about them.  We know how to behave without needing an explanation.  

But values actually differ far more commonly than most of us realize.  They are learned; they are not innate.

We learn our values early in life.  We absorb them from our families, our friends, our schooling.  They are gained from our social environment rather than our genetic biology. 

There are, of course, emotional traits that are uniquely human and which are shared by everyone. These include feelings of fear, anger, love, joy, sadness, shame, and the need to associate meaningfully with others.

All this aside, everyone has a unique set of personal values and traits which, while learned, we do not necessarily share with anyone else.

America is multi-layered and complex.  Ours is a nation populated almost entirely by immigrants, and even rural communities with no recent immigrants are home to diverse values.

Values are influenced by many things: By the geographic region in which we live, and by our ethnicity.  They are also influenced by one’s generation (which differs from that of our parents and grandparents), and certainly by social class, which may reflect one’s profession, place of employment, or educational experience.

The values we come in contact with rarely exist in harmony, and sometimes they do not do so even within ourselves.  Add to this the values of neighbors who are influenced by differing family roots, and one lives with a rich diversity of perspectives.

The strength in this diversity lies in the practical knowledge and lived experience that it makes available for problem-solving.  And this will become more important as needs and challenges grow.

Let’s be clear: We are not talking about virtues here.  Values and virtues are related, but they are not the same thing.  While values are as diverse as the environments that create them, virtues are transcendent, eternal, and unchangeable.

Virtues are prudent.  They are required by good order and our wish to engage successfully in good order.

The American Founders emphasized the importance of virtues, especially truthfulness, trustworthiness, patience, and responsibility.

Conversely, values are personal.  While many values are shared, a stable and prosperous future will require that we understand the difference between values and virtues. 

We live in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world.  We need dependable neighbors, and we are challenged to engage successfully with a variety of values. 

In authentic communities, differing values need to be understood and discussed openly. 

We need to learn how to benefit from a wealth of differences without compromising ourselves.  Are we willing and able to engage in the dialogue this requires?

None of us can know what we share—or how we differ—if we have avoided meaningful conversation.  Superficial observation invites unexamined assumptions.

Only a willingness to engage in honest and respectful dialogue can provide accurate information and open the door to understanding.

You might question whether understanding requires you to compromise yourself.  I do not think so.  Respecting the feelings of our neighbors does not require that we compromise our own values.  We are who we are. 

Still, authentic community calls for compassion, curious interest, collaboration.

Tom

Regular readers can look for the next post on or about August 1.

My forthcoming book, “Liberty and the American Idea,” is now in the hands of my publisher, and will be available soon.  The introduction and several sample chapters can be found at the top of the homepage.

A Gentle Leadership

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This is a very challenging time; a time of testing, of self-examination and soul-searching for a society confronted with disruption and uncertainty.  In the midst of conflict and distrust, Americans are called to envision our future as a nation—a vision worthy of our better selves—and to find a way forward with a spirit that transcends our differences.

How can safety, security, and collaboration become possible at a time such as this?  It is a tall order, and there is no quick fix.

As individual citizens we have little control over eventual outcomes, yet we can surely place the imprint of personal commitment, of our caring and our spirit, on the character of our purpose.

The challenge before us is immediate and unavoidable.  The consequences of our actions or inaction will be profound.  For this reason, I have proposed that we consider our personal contributions—our own actions—in a new way.

I ask that you to think of yourselves as gentle leaders.

What do I mean by this?

Leadership is understood in different ways.  Many people assume that a leader is someone with commanding authority or influence.  That is not what we need now.

If we are to build strong, resilient communities amid the disorder of today’s world, such a view would be useless, or worse.

If security depends on a diversity of experience, perspective, and learned skills—as it certainly does today—leadership must understand this.  Resolving problems, meeting needs, and finding safety will require all the resources we can put in place.

Please think of leadership as taking active responsibility for gathering and encouraging your neighbors to engage in planning and constructive action.  This can be done selflessly, and with generosity of spirit.

A civilized future will depend on an integrity anchored in trustworthiness.  Are we up to this?  Can we persevere despite the distrust that abounds around us?  Never has courage and a steady hand been so essential.

Local communities can build the foundations for the future even as we address shared needs and act in our own best interests.

Personal initiative matters!  The future can begin around your kitchen table. A nucleus formed with just a few neighbors can make things happen.  Don’t argue!  Don’t wait!

Human civilization depends first on loving families, engaged neighborhoods, and functional communities.  This is our place.  This is where order is established, experienced, and proven.

Authentic community cannot be invented with wishful thinking.  The small steps that create safe communities can begin at any time—today or tomorrow.  And the small steps are the most important.

Our role as citizen-leaders is to bring community to life through constructive action—quietly, little by little, every day.  To think and act responsibly we need to engage our neighbors gently, effectively—all of them—regardless of our differences.  We need to cultivate relationships that get things done.

We do not need to agree on everything—only on what needs to be done.  If we are serious, we will gradually mold simple relationships into trustworthy alliances and, sometimes, genuine friendships.

Everyone is capable of concern for our place in the world.  Some may need convincing, but with steadfast patience we can bring them around.

Tom

Regular readers can look for the next post on or about July 1.

My forthcoming book, “Liberty and the American Idea,” will be published and available in the coming weeks.  The introduction and several sample chapters are linked at the top of the homepage.

What is Authentic Community?

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Communities have taken many forms. The internet supports numerous “communities” that flourish in parallel universes. Many are dispersed across wide areas and around the world. They include interest groups, professional organizations, religious congregations, and sports enthusiasts. Such associations provide meaningful and engaged interaction.

However, they exist with little or no awareness of the dynamic relationships and complexity of the localities in which people live. They are not concerned with safety or survival in hard times.

The concept of community we are talking about here is quite different. It is geographically local, but also ancient and universal. Only authentic community supports neighborhood safety, social and economic stability, and local institutions. It is by nature inclusive; no one is excluded.

The challenges confronting us today—civil disorder, social degradation, and widespread distrust—call for the creation of functional local communities capable of problem-solving and addressing shared-needs.

We cannot survive, much less build a society we can respect and believe in, unless we can depend on our neighbors. Collaboration is needed—not political agreement. The future will depend on our readiness to rise above our differences to the extent necessary for safety and self-preservation.

If we are not engaged with our neighbors, we can start now. We need to approach them in a warm and friendly manner. Bake some cookies or a pie. Invite problem-solving. Be forgiving. Avoid partisan comments.

When we encounter suspicion and distrust, we can be patient and understanding. We are capable of being respectful and supportive. Increasingly, civil order will require courage, collaboration, and grace.

Local communities have long been the basic unit comprising human societies—the dynamic structure in which justice, social order, and personal identity are grounded. It is here that young people learn values, find equilibrium, and gain a sense of belonging.

Everyone needs a sense of belonging grounded in place

Authentic communities invite active participation. We need to feel at home, and have the safety to be ourselves. So it is that community, when endowed with the full engagement of its’ citizens, becomes the substructure for freedom and the foundation for security. No other institution is capable of serving this purpose.

Only in genuinely functional local communities will it be possible to respond personally and effectively to the challenges of the present hour. We can and must learn how to encourage dependability and sustain trust among people who differ from us—politically, socially, religiously. Our neighbors come from every kind of experience and background.

Such learning requires patience and understanding, and the will to seek a future we can respect and believe in. We are capable of this.

None of the challenges now confronting us can be met with wishful thinking.

We are embarking on a long journey, a learning process, and for many, a new and meaningful creative endeavor. We will succeed with open and inquisitive minds, and the courage to learn by doing.

Tom

Regular readers can look for the next post on or about June 1.

My forthcoming book, “Liberty and the American Idea,” is with my publisher. It will be available very soon. The Introduction, an annotated table of contents, and several chapters are linked at the top of the homepage.

A Future We Can Respect

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We are living through an extraordinary transition in human history, a fraught passage between a technically advanced but disintegrating past and an ultimately coherent, sustainable, and civilized future. The distress we are experiencing is very real. The present challenges may feel new to some, but they have been coming on for years. The crisis deepens, but it is not new.

A future we can believe in and respect will demand a lot from Americans. Getting there will require steadfast patience and immense resolve. Most of all, it will call for an attitude and frame of mind that reaches far beyond partisan hostilities.

It will be necessary to respond in a way we are not accustomed to. We must remain even-tempered, creative, and constructive. Dishonesty and disagreeable behavior are guaranteed to continue, but we are strong.

The only future that matters will be built with genuine human caring and generosity of spirit.

You might think this to be impossible. Well, I’m sorry, but we have no choice. We will need to spare no effort. In extreme conditions we may discover we have strength or stamina we did not know we had.

The alternative will be to watch the future descend into a deepening abyss, a nightmare of degradation for ourselves and our children.

Constructive action must be pursued determinedly and responsibly by citizens who can bring themselves to engage meaningfully with those they differ with—to rise above our differences no matter what the response. The strongest among us are those who have suffered in the past. Our greatest resources will be people who have known hardship and have prevailed.

Please keep in mind that it might be helpful to back away occasionally for quiet moments to collect our thoughts.

What do we know? Humankind was never an experiment and never a mistake. Our extraordinary capacity as human beings allows us to overcome the challenges created by an energetic spirit and over-active imagination.

The weaknesses of egotism, selfishness, and dishonesty are the failures of individual people, not the failures of the human race. Pain and suffering are afflictions, not ultimate destiny.

We have responsibility for identifying and serving the purpose for which we exist: To engage the inborn promise of a just, trustworthy, and prosperous civilization. A coherent future will depend on authentic dialogue and collaboration—and a state of mind that remains steady in the midst of turmoil.

I come to you with the premise that safety, well-being, and economic stability all depend on a firm foundation in local communities. Practical guidance is available from many sources. My forthcoming book may assist you to focus effectively. It offers a practical vision and the means for advancing constructively.

We can expect extremes of civil disorder and social degradation in the coming years. Our determination and fortitude must not falter. Without authentic communities we will remain vulnerable and ineffectual.

So, what do I mean by “authentic community?” I am not talking about geography. I am talking about people, interactive relationships, shared purpose, and supportive institutions.

Authentic community transcends the diversity of social, religious, and political differences. It consists of engaged and trustworthy relationships. It involves commitment to local problem-solving and meeting shared needs.

Authentic community is actualized by engagement in meaningful dialogue and collaborative endeavors, supported by local institutions and the varied interest associations of civil society.

This will not come easily because most of us have little or no experience with true community. But the potential is real. Our friends and neighbors will find it increasingly attractive as their circumstances deteriorate.

A genuinely functional community is a living network of dependable relationships that supports personal, social, and economic well-being. Yet, it is far more than that.

Community encourages a consciousness that embodies ethical integrity, respectfulness, and caring. This provides strength and resilience in the face of duress.

Community supports coherent thinking and collaborative action. It transforms uncertainty into purpose and generates the fortitude to withstand hardship.

You are invited to explore this potential—to form a nucleus of support in your neighborhood, to think together, to learn and plan and grow.

Tom

Regular readers can watch for the next post on or about May 1.

My forthcoming book, “Liberty and the American Idea,” is being prepared for publication. The Introduction, an annotated table of contents, and several chapters can be found at the top of the homepage.