'We' got game - or do we?

It was a big weekend for sports fans. The NBA and Stanley Cup hockey playoffs are in full swing, the NFL draft captivated football devotees, and the 2008 baseball season is hitting its stride. Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts wrote late last week how sports have "a singular ability  ... to make people say 'we.'" He continued:

It happens much less often in other areas of civic life. No one says ''we'' when they talk about homelessness or hunger, no ''our'' enters the discussion of fatherless families or abortion rights, ''us'' is a stranger to the debate over failing schools and crime. Those conversations are framed by words like ''them'' and "they.''

I have no bone to pick with sports. Still, I find myself thinking a healthier society would find common cause beyond the ball field and the basketball court, would regard working toward great and ambitious goals as a civic obligation.

He pointed to the Civil War, the Depression, the War on Poverty, and even the Apollo space program as examples of times when our nation has come together to work for the greater good. But in recent decades, too many politicians and pundits have been short on vision and long on divisive rhetoric.

Yet the tide may be turning, Pitts suggests, as Barack Obama "has been able to build a political movement on a simple promise to bring people together" and John McCain "has lately been calling people to ''sacrifice for a cause greater than yourself.'" Pitts ends his column by asking us to remember the first three words in our Constitution: We, the People. (Read the whole column here.)

Anyone who could have lurked on our Communities Creating Racial Equity Learning Exchange last week would know that all across the United States, "we" remains the operative word for activists who are intent on being sure that everyone within their communities has the chance to speak out, to take action, and to be part of building communities that thrive. (I've posted notes from the introductory session at our wiki so you can easily see just a taste of the tremendous work they're doing.)

And there are hundreds of other communities getting in the game, too. Whether your city (or even your neighborhood) is ready to work on racial equity, youth issues, or growth and sprawl, Everyday Democracy has tools to help you put points on the board. Look at our website to learn what others are doing and how you can get started.

Comments

[Martha McCoy]

Thanks, Julie..

One of the things that we sometimes forget about civic life is that it can be (and should be) fun!

Yes, it's also serious work. For sure, there are many serious problems to work on.

But when we have a chance to celebrate each other's cultures, figure out our assets, be creative together, tackle our common problems, inject some art and food and humor... well, we're a lot closer to the "smart practices" of community life that make people want to get involved. (When you think about it, that's true for all of us.)

That's the kind of energy we saw last week at the Communities Creating Racial Equity learning exchange.... all while framing some new language and ways of working on racism, one of the most critical issues in our country. (I wish the pundits could have seen and heard it.)

The Civic Fair that will take place on Friday night, June 13, at our national conference in Denver will have much the same kind of energy and fun (and food!).

Every so-called "civic engagement" effort should have a "fun" committee as part of its inclusion and recruitment practices... we've seen lots of examples of how food, the arts, celebration, etc., bring new life to community members finding (and continuing to find) their voices together.

I'd love to hear people talk about that in this space.

[Julie in Boise]

Hear hear, Martha!

The "10 Things in Common" exercise that Barb led last week was a great example of injecting fun into serious work, wasn't it?

For those who weren't there, we divided into groups of about eight people and had to find 10 things we all had in common. (The photo atop our left-hand column at this blog shows one group's findings. Click it to see more photos from the Learning Exchange.)

Then each group had to disclose the most UNUSUAL thing they all had in common. This part of the exercise brought MUCH hilarity as one group disclosed they were all "shallow"; another revealed each person had a family member who'd been in jail; and another said they all hated to follow instructions (tearing up their drawing).

We are all so busy that it seems like a no-brainer that every civic engagement opportunity ought to have a good dose of play and merrymaking - but it's so easily overlooked. Thanks for the reminder! Can't wait for the civic fair!