Together we can strengthen our communities

By Chuck Peters

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I first met author, educator and poet Parker Palmer 18 months ago in Decorah, where he and singer/songwriter Carrie Newcomer were exploring the creation of community workshops around his latest book, “Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit.”

They have honed their presentation several times since then, but do not appear together often. I have communicated with them about our region's ongoing flood recovery, and our company's hopes for the future as we build new capabilities in this emerging hyper-connected world.

We are very honored to have them in Cedar Rapids next Saturday for an open gathering at 7 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church. (Registration for the event is at www.healingcr.eventbrite.com)

Why would I work to make such an event happen, and to encourage others to attend?

I believe the floods we experienced over five years ago brought out the best in us, and our company. We all worked together, evacuating thousands of people and protecting as much property as we could.

Since then, we have experienced the frustrations and joys of cleaning up, rebuilding and creating much that is brand-new to replace that which was destroyed. We learned that being resilient is important.

Strengthen communities

I kept wondering: Could we more intentionally strengthen our communities to flourish, and not just to respond to disasters?

Several people recommended “Healing the Heart of Democracy” to me. As I read it, I realized that this was a mature and thoughtful work, with a hopeful message and helpful historical context.

As noted by Palmer in his book:

“The human heart, this vital core of the human self, holds the power to destroy democracy or to make it whole. That is why our nineteenth-century visitor, Alexis de Tocqueville, insisted in his classic Democracy in America that democracy's future would depend heavily on generations of American citizens cultivating the habits of the heart that support political wholeness.”

While the book made me think, participating with Parker, Carrie and others in the workshop strengthened my resolve to pursue this direction. It is up to each of us to cultivate these habits, and to join with others to make our communities thrive.

Good for Democracy

In his book, “Healing the Heart of Democracy,” author Parker Palmer explores those habits that will best cause democracy to flourish:

However, for many of us these productive and constructive habits run counter to our tendency to be an “audience,” treating democracy as a spectator sport.

As Palmer notes, mainstream media exacerbates those tendencies by briefly and rapidly focusing on what is going wrong, thus dissuading many from participating in the process.

Our company believes it is not enough to only shine a light on issues - we must have the intentionality to help our communities resolve those issues and help create the context, understanding and potential connections to facilitate progress. Our region's promise to the world is “We Create Here.” (www.creativecorridor.co)

Our company is owned by a trust, for the benefit of all our employees. We live and work in our communities, and are totally dependent upon those communities.

We want thriving communities, with good government, and we realize that we cannot report our way to that end.

The work of cultivating these habits of the heart is done by individuals, and small groups, which will enable us all in our work together.

Call to action

Each of us can explore Palmer's ideas by reading “Healing the Heart of Democracy,” or by beginning to practice these habits.

By joining together with others who also are practicing these habits, we can build thriving communities, and create a democracy reflecting our better natures.

Please join us this Saturday, and in the days to come.

Chuck Peters is President and CEO of The Gazette Company.

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[naviga:li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li"]Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit ~ Parker J. Palmer