A civil society needs the kindness of strangers and acquaintances
It was an elderly Turkish Cypriot neighbour whom I credit with having taught me about civility. Passing his house one evening in summer, I commented to him that the rose in his front garden smelled heavenly. He promptly disappeared and I wondered if I had offended him, but he returned with a pair of scissors and cut the stem of a perfect red rose and gave it to me. It was the beginning of a friendship between our two families in which we have exchanged recipes, herbs, spiced teas, cakes, vine leaves and flowers.
That experience is part of why I am not in the least surprised by the finding of the new Young Foundation report: that how people treat each other – civility – is more important than crime statistics in influencing how people feel about where they live and their sense of belonging. Much of our day-to-day wellbeing is rooted in the granularity of tiny interactions in the shop, on the street and buses. Isolation can be eased by a greeting, anxiety assuaged by friendliness; and the reverse, an irritated or aggressive response can reverberate in someone’s mind for days, and leave lasting damage in how someone might perceive a place. The research found that many said it was the single most important factor in their quality of life.
Read More : http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/oct/10/civil-society-strangers-acquaintances?newsfeed=true
