The Importance of Civility

Your choices, charm, and chutzpah can revitalize your community. In her first book, Bogorad reminds us that we are all social beings, who need to socially interact to thrive as individuals and to sustain strong communities. She shares with us the theory that social isolation leads to victimization and weakens our communities. And she warns us that social cannibalism may consume us if we continue to ignore our need and our obligation to socially interact with each other. If you are a person whose community has been weakened by incivility, victimization, and/or addiction, the ideas within her book may help you strengthen your community. Or if you are a person, who has minimal contact with other people, her ideas may provide you with a reason to increase the quantity and quality of your interactions. Or if you are a person, who lives in a community without incivility, victimization, and addiction, the contents of her book may help you understand those of us whose social environment is not as perfect as yours. But no matter who you are, reading her book will cause you to wonder about the importance of civility and the costs of incivility. Remember: We all need a village. And ponder: What we do not say does hurt us, and our polite interaction with others strengthens us and our community. according to Bogorad.