Then practiced and reinforced. In recent decades, these traditional arenas have taken a beating. Families have splintered. Neighborhoods have broken up. Churches have lost stature.
Schools have forfeited respect.
It's all well and good to beckon the citizenry to roll up their sleeves and help rebuild troubled families and broken communities. But anyone who hopes to lead an army of new volunteers to the barricades needs to recognize that in America's transition to a leaner, meaner economy and a mobile, technological society, a lot of bridges have been burned and lot of community connections shattered. If we are to heed the President's call for volunteerism, we must rebuild these bridges. We can start by recognizing that the nature of community and its gravity centers have shifted. While traditional community-based organizations will continue to play a critical role in teaching the values of volunteerism, their leaders must carry their messages to the few places other than Foxboro where great numbers of people still gather.