Citizenship

It was one of those drop-dead-gorgeous summer evenings. Puffy clouds dotted sunset skies. Comforting low-80's made short sleeves feel just right. A cooling breeze reminded me of bygone days down on the farm. As summer's first chorus of cicadas clattered in the tree tops circling Larry Novell Band Shell. All this as hundreds gathered to fill the theater for the youngsters' Saturday performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!"

We were taken with the quality of the now 60-year old production. But honestly, I had my eye on a certain cast member who will soon be off to Italy as a Rotary exchange student, as well as her Mom, who played a fine fiddle in accompaniment. I knew them from my work with Rotary and was not surprised by their superb contributions this night.

But I was also taken with the sense of community Saturday evening. Here were a bunch of mostly high school kids, working in-concert with adult musicians and producers, playing out a wonderful musical for the enjoyment of a diverse group of Manhattan citizens. This is an example of what civilized societies do. They come together, participate in a process, and share the rewards. This night it happened to be splendid music.

There was no rancor amongst this crowd. Everyone knew this would not be perfectly executed. But they also understood it was a great effort for a good purpose and most entertaining.

We can learn from these bright kids and this beautiful evening. All things in life are not perfect, and certainly not government. We practice. We execute. We do the best we can. And, hopefully, the results are worthwhile. Otherwise, we change the players. Civilized societies just act this way. We understand that seldom is perfection achieved, even in a representative democracy. But it is in participation that we come together as citizens and communities.

First published in the Manhattan Free Press, July 26, 2006.