"Can we all get along?" Rodney King's lament, often invoked derisively as a simplistic view of human interaction, reveals at its core a question that resonates even with cynics. If we could all work together, sometimes sacrificing a little of our own success for a better community overall, wouldn't the world benefit? The surging movement to engage residents in community requires that groups of people cooperate to improve their towns, cities and neighborhoods. One would think that the putative benefits of cooperation - a clean park, a safe sidewalk, more old-timers able to stay in the neighborhood, stronger downtowns, water for crops - would be enough to motivate people to join in...
|