Earlier this morning, I watched a show on TV discussing the topic of Civility. In today’s world, every time you turn on the news, there is an individual, a group, or two opposing groups that aren’t being very civil. I also realize that being civil is a group effort, and everyone should be held accountable for the lack of civility we see.
The purpose of this blog is not to take sides or to point fingers. The point I do want to make, however, goes something like this. In my capacity as Mayor of Dublin, an Officer of the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), a Real Estate Broker, or in Business Development for a local construction company, the people I deal with on a daily basis, generally, are very civil. In fact, my good friend, Dorothy Hubbard, Mayor of Albany, based her entire year’s work as President of GMA on Civility.
The main point I am trying to depict is that civility, or being civil, is up to us! The more we learn about one another and our cultures and different perspectives, the more civil we become. Are we going to disagree? Of course! Are there times we are going to have different points of view? Yes, but if we respect one another and are civil to one another, we can, at least, talk through and discuss the things we do agree on. This isn’t just about national, state, or local politics. This includes our everyday interactions with coworkers, our actions and reactions in our church families, and even in our time off.
I know I’m not the only person, by a far stretch, that has noticed what is going on in our world, country, state, and community. Just the fact that people are aware and do realize that WE are not as civil to one another as we need to be, creates hope. If we didn’t notice it or if it didn’t matter to us, then we would be in real trouble.
During the upcoming week, we should all try to think about practicing civility and recognizing the things in our own lives that we can improve and do better on. If we start there, who knows where it will end up?
Phil Best, Sr. CRS, GRI
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