> A number of subscribers to this list were in the audience on Thursday
> evening for Dan kemmis' presentation in Pullman about "The Good City
> and the Good Life."
>
> I'd like to hear your immediate and spontaneous reactions to
> his remarks. What were the one or two most interesting ideas he
> presented? Which suggestions might have the most relevance to Moscow
> and Pullman?
I did not have an opportunity to ask the question that continues
to puzzle me. Dan spoke of "citizenship" which implies responsibility,
mentoring, and civility. We need to work back toward the idea
of citizenship and personal responsibility in the affairs of govt.
On a small scale, and among a group of individuals, this appears
possible. But today's society is more complex. He spoke of the
inherent rationalization of communities...a breaking down or
segementing of community functions into small, managable components.
He did not address what I believe to be the even larger problem
today--the corporatization of community.
Corporations are fundamentally the opposite of citizenship. Rather
than foster responsibility among individuals, they seek to diffuse,
distribute, and otherwise obfuscate responsibility for action.
Individuals at Walmart (to use a far-fetched example :-) ) *may* care
about the community as individuals but are seldom responsible for
the actions of that corporation in the community. How many times
have we heard....its against corporate policy...or we will have
to check with corporate headquarters. No responsibility. We
end up trying to dialogue with an artificial, legal abstraction whose
community conscience is limited. Amplify this siuation with several
large corporations in a community and it is easy to see how
citizenship breaks down.
On the other hand, we can talk to Gerald Connelly, or Bob Green,
or John Teeter and they contribute significantly to community
citizenship. They are responsible. Scale matters. Corporate vs.
small business matters. If a community has large corporations,
"citizenship" will be much more difficult to achieve.
Just some food for thought.
-- Greg Brown (gregb@uidaho.edu) Computer Services Adjunct Assistant Professor, College of Forestry,Wildlife,& Range Sciences University of Idaho Moscow, ID 83843 (208) 885-2126 Fax: (208) 885-7539