I am pleased to be a Fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration. As such, I was pleased to contribute this short piece to NAPA's "Thoughts from Our Fellows" forum styled "Build Resilient Communities."
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Perhaps the primary responsibility of local governments, whether cities or counties, is to provide for the public health and safety of their citizens. And, of course, providing and maintaining certain basic infrastructure, such as streets, sidewalks, local transportation, is also crucial to fostering an environment in which a vibrant social and economic life can flourish. But here, in thinking about building resilient communities, I want to invoke Alex de Tocqueville – and urge that his observations, after traveling throughout America, are no less important today than they were in 1835 when he published his famous book, Democracy in America.
In perhaps the most oft-quoted passage, Tocqueville reported that:
The political associations that exist in the United States are only a single feature in the midst of an immense assemblage of associations in that country. Americans of all ages, all conditions, and all dispositions, constantly form associations. They have not only commercial and manufacturing companies, in which all take part, but associations of a thousand other kinds—religious, moral, serious, futile, general or restricted, enormous or diminutive.
While acknowledging a necessary role for government, Tocqueville asked, rhetorically: “What political power could ever carry on the vast multitude of lesser undertakings which the American citizens perform every day, with the assistance of the principle of association?”
As a keen student of human nature, Tocqueville recognized the positive role that private associational activity could play in enriching an individual’s life. Tocqueville famously suggested "the heart is enlarged and the mind is developed" only by the reciprocal influence of men and women working together in their voluntary associations. This voluntary associational engagement, whether undertaken through religious or various other civil society organizations, is a predicate to building resilient communities, not only by virtue of the positive contributions they make but also by virtue of providing a means for meeting the innate need of individuals to live satisfying lives.
This voluntary associational engagement, whether undertaken through religious or various other civil society organizations, is a predicate to building resilient communities, not only by virtue of the positive direct contributions they make but also by virtue of providing a means for meeting the innate need of most individuals to participate in communal activities in order to live satisfying lives.
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