In a democracy everyone has to participate in a responsible way in order for it to work. We start with our neighborhood then city, county, state, nation, and the world. Here are some things we can do to make our neighborhoods a better community and our world a better planet:

T H I N G S to D O

1. Block Parties - Summer celebrations such as the fourth of July or Labor Day are great opportunities for having a block party and Bar B Que for your neighborhood. It is a time to get all of the children, adults and elders together; eat good food; play games; dance and talk. (Also the neighborhood pets).

2. Safety - Set up a community crime watch program if it is not already in place. Educate the children as well as the adult family members of precautions to take to safe guard the neighborhood. Have on going meetings to discuss issues and solutions.

3. Community Center - Start a building program for the creation of a community center for recreation, common ground activities, parties, meetings etc. A YMCA building may be suitable as an alternative.

4. Clean Up Campaign - Conduct weekend clean up campaigns to keep the community looking good and bring neighbors together. This includes snow removal, tree trimming, leaf raking, garbage collecting, etc.

5. Volunteer Groups - Establish relationships with the important service organizations including the police, fire, rescue, food bank, Good Will, etc. Volunteer the entire community to help as appropriate occasions arise; let them know you are organized and can be of service to them in time of need.

6. School and Other Groups - Participate in the local PTA, Boy Scouts, Youth Soccer, Church Social Activity committees, etc.

7. Organize - Actively organize and promote neighborhood social and recreational activities such as the groups above as well as fishing, music playing or singing performances, discussion groups, book clubs, poetry readings, bowling, cycling, walking and hiking, computer and electronic games, etc. for the entire neighborhood.

8. Mutual Family Support - Where possible, provide or aid in the acquisition of and creation of sources of information for child care, baby sitters, household help, parenting skills, etc.

9. Diversity - Show appreciation of and participate in the ethnic holidays, rituals, and celebrations of others in the neighborhood who share different origins from yourself. This is one of the ways to make America a better country. Other things may be done to address diversity in general and race specifically. More on this in the future.

10. Traditions - Build and maintain neighborhood traditions, folklore and legacies; retell stories from the past; promote the good and the fun. Be a good neighbor.

Something to think about:

In addition to making your community a better place, we can do things on a daily basis that make our humanity better in a general way. It is left as an exercise for the reader to seek or compose other ways to make our country and world a better place. Start by participating in the movement to do"random kindness and senseless acts of beauty."