I am seeing it in terms of civility and civic lessons, the basics of any society. Civility comes into play when one interacts with another. We are relation based creatures and will always be interacting with what we find in and out of our environments. When I use the word "another," that includes my family members, the tree out side my window , my neighbors across the street and everything in between and beyond. Treating it all politely, with respect. You don"t have to be friendly or in agreement. That is a bonus.
How do you want to be treated? It is what the Golden Rule and the like in all cultures and practices reflect.
Civics are about the rights and duties of its citizens, in being in community. Governments are systems set up to guard and protect those rights and duties. Or they can be set up to protect a person or group's agendas. We tend to think of governments as big businesses and often poorly managed and while they may appear as such they are not. At their core they are there to foster what the community or person has decided is important to its citizens or to himself.
Leaders can be democratic or despot or figureheads with congresses behind them running the government. We have created different forms of governments around the world. We can see how deadly it can be with changing or overturning ruling political parties or dictators and the ensuing destruction or what happens under regimes that say they will take care of its citizens but it is only their definition of control that include losses of freedoms of expression as life itself.
The government of the United States was created at a time when most cultures were dealing with leadership that was more about the bigger muscle, terror and bias campaigns and ruling class created separateness. If you were lucky you had a good ruler who valued his citizens and the community and all expanded into productive enriching cultures. Royalty and dictators are not always about fostering others and more about entitlement and powers over others shared with a select few. Using the government as a their personal for profit business.
Many have wanted to install a businessman into running the US government. Perhaps that approach would help. Sounded good and yet look what has happened with this particular kind of businessman who's focus is on his own brand. Some businesses run this way. He seems to be appointing other business people who hold his low standards of business ethics in the same way. They have become our ruling class literally. Not always looking after the community but playing power games subject to whim, personal gain and scant regard towards those they serve. Those they serve. A good government serves its people and responds to its needs. These days a different sense of public service is appearing which is subject to interpretation and alternate facts.
Our government is not a business for profit. It is also not a not for profit business. It has to cover its costs so that it can be there when it is needed. That is what taxes are really about.
This particular government of democracy, was created to support our civility. All men are created equal with inalienable rights and have the right to form a new government it says in our Declaration of Independence. That means all men, women, children of any assorted background have equal merit. That is what it means these days and what we aspire for it to do. But that has gotten lost in this leadership and defining and deconstructing forces that have been brought into play. We can all agree that our government is clearly unwieldy at times and is in need of attention for the bloat and updating and constant compromises that so often are what politics can be about.
What would Ben Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and all the rest think of us today? They saw democracy as a work in progress and ideals and standards to be put into action. And perhaps not long lasting. Our time in current history is not theirs. In their time and place and context white men ruled, class structure was strong, indentured slavery was acceptable, armed citizens were needed to feed themselves and form a militia of protection. Women and children were still regarded as chattel and we killed, raped and robbed the native peoples and failed to assimilate and integrate them into the growing new immigrant face of the continent.
We have evolved into today with this baggage. It is seen everywhere around the world in some shape or form.
We say America used to be great and can be great again. Nice slogan but this country has been no different than any majority of countries in how it has treated its citizens for better and worse as it defines itself. Greatness is not about bigger or powerful. We have had more presence, a bigger stick, the safeguard for democracy etc. in how we choose to interact with the rest of the world at times.We have done it both well and clumsily and deadly at times. We are a world leader in thought and potential and at times backward and without respect for the local peoples and their desires, paying attention to only our country's supposed best interests.
Yet, we are doing well in this democracy of ours. And, as we are. We are great in our government that has the ability to weather and evolve as it goes through all this releasing of complacent and complicit energies in it's citizens and newcomers. People came here to explore resources, make their fortunes and leave spirit crushing governments and often certain death. We look to them to assimilate and integrate into our American society without loss enriching the fiber of our communities and help taking America towards a new greatness. We are so fortunate to live here. This is the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/ to remind you.
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."Constitution of the United States
Consciousness, Civility and Civics lessons are the best business models.
Janet Barrett
Life in the Beyond/Journeys Into Enlightenment
www.janetandbeyond.com
janetb@janetandbeyond.com
sense of greatness for any of us. thing civility
