In reply to LO and Big Layoffs LO5374, Rol Fessenden writes:
>Military families tend to participate in community activities together as
>one of their social outlets. When I led the building of a playground at a
>local school, Navy families joined in -- enthusiastically -- as a bloc
>because they decided largely as a bloc to participate, have fun, and make
>social contacts. The military grapevine was a great way to make a lot of
>contacts and raise a lot of volunteers quickly. They were great
>participants. But where does the non-military family find the support
>group that says, 'hey, let's go do this together, and have some fun.'?
Rol, et al,
You're exactly right to ask. I believe you're describing or reacting to
the undoing of the "neigborhood" and the "community." In our Air Force
family (I appreciate my nautical comrades in arms, I'm the daughter of a
seaman who was "downsized" before he saw duty [yes, I spelled seaman
right]), we find ourselves as strangers in strange lands sometimes and
that becomes a common ground. Then we have a culture that includes
effective internal communications, a willingness to contribute, etc.
Recall my post on the Cultural Dilemma? This could easily be another
line. We've moved from a cultural value of "neighborliness" to one of "To
each his own," from "shared sense of community" to "What's in it for me?".
And what do suppose has fed this shift? Where is our leverage point?
So, what do we do about it? We've tried demonstrating our culture here in
our new neighborhood where we plan to stay "forever." And the neighbors
say, "Yeah, yeah, we're with you...as long as you don't expect me to risk
anything." But I believe that's what it'll take...as mentioned in an
earlier post, grass roots change, and it begins with me. And you.
-- Ginger Shafer The Leadership Dimension "Bringing Leadership to Life" vshafer@azstarnet.comLearning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>