Becky Cain
Thinking, acting as a
community will help solve problems
Wednesday March 6, 2002
WEST
Virginia's cities and counties face an array of problems. These include loss of
jobs, poor access to health care and a lack of affordable housing. Communities
in West Virginia are not unlike those across the United States in that these
substantive issues are not the main problem. The main problem is the inability
of our communities to pull together to act on these issues. We have trouble
thinking as a community or acting as a community.
The term "community"
implies a system where individuals can pursue their own visions and at the same
time work toward the common good of their neighborhoods and cities. It is this
interplay of diverse interests in a framework of shared purposes that gives a
community the ability to adapt and renew itself when faced with ever-changing
needs. The late John Gardner referred to this system as "wholeness
incorporating diversity."
This goal of "wholeness
incorporating diversity" fosters individual freedom and responsibility
within a framework of group obligation. It is easy to reject custom and
tradition and to look with contempt at the imperfect institutions in our
society. It is much harder to try to work in a cooperative manner toward
solutions that may be necessary to change those imperfections. This means
recognizing a commitment beyond us, a commitment as individuals to give
something back to the larger group.
Often in the interest of making
sure our individual differences are known and respected, we lose sight of our
shared values and the need to nurture those as well. The community provides the
individual with a sense of identity and belonging. The individual, in turn,
provides some measure of commitment to the community.
Obviously, there will be at times
a tension between the needs of the individual and the needs of the group. Both
needs are valid. In a healthy community, there is an understanding of the mutual
dependence of the individual and the group. It is the loss of this understanding
that is the biggest threat to the survival of our communities. We look to the
leaders in our communities to help provide and protect an open climate for
dissent while at the same time diminishing polarization and helping to resolve
conflict.
One reason we seem to be
struggling in so many of our cities and neighborhoods is the fragmentation of
leadership. It seems that most leaders are concerned only with their segment,
without regard for the community as a whole. In order for the community to
function, leaders must see not only their responsibility in terms of
representing the needs of their constituents but also the needs of the entire
community. They must carry the message of the individuals to the community as
well as carry back to their constituents the needs of the community.
As individuals, we expect that our
communities will exist and function in a framework that pursues justice,
equality and freedom. We can't expect the whole to represent something that is
not practiced by its individual segments. If we expect our neighborhoods, cities
and counties to reflect a set of shared values, then it is up to us as
individuals in our communities to define and model those values. By doing so, we
will be providing a climate of caring, trust and teamwork that will ensure the
success of both the individual and the community.
Cain, president and CEO of the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation,
is one of the Gazette's contributing columnists.