What Is An Amish Barn Raising? The Process and Preparations

Civility Values

Civility is a set of behaviors based upon the seven commonly held values of: human dignity, respect, acceptance, intentionality, responsibility, constructiveness and public-spiritedness. A social, political and economic society must have some core beliefs, norms and behaviors. The modern renaissance of Civility attempts to define the beliefs, norms and behaviors so they can be shared and promoted. We need to be confident that we know what Civility is, how we should behave, how/why we should influence others and why the underlying principles make sense.

Public Spiritedness

The quality of caring about community welfare. Altruism is considering the public good rather than just personal interests. A sense of duty to consider the community good. Willingness to act on behalf of the community.

Communities of all sizes require individual members to value community interests, not just personal interests. They require individuals to internalize this idea, belief and value in order to make it a habit. Humans have evolved to be able to take and hold this perspective.

The key is for individuals to consider the common, public or greater good, not to be completely selfless. Public spiritedness is not a partisan value. Classical, moderate and progressive liberals promote this value. Classic and modern conservatives promote this value.

Civility is Nonpartisan

Some liberals and conservatives reject this principle. They rely on purely individual self-interest or religious, state or philosophical systems that do not require individual choices. I argue that this “radical individualism” is one of the 6 root causes of our current dysfunctional cultural situation.

https://tomkapostasy.com/2025/02/08/whats-the-root-cause-of-our-problems-radical-individualism/

https://tomkapostasy.com/2025/01/08/community-articles-index/

Community Really Matters: Index

https://www.oreateai.com/blog/public-spirited-meaning/

Public-spiritedness is strongly supported by all religious and philosophical systems.

Judaism [Google AI]

Christianity

Islam

Buddhism

Hinduism

Taoism

Shintoism

Confucianism

Secular Humanism

Summary

The World Religions say :

1. The universe exists. We must harmonize with the fixed, structured, unchanging, known universe.
2. Community precedes the individual.
3. We are interdependent.
4. Community provides context for life.
5. We are obligated to participate in community.
6. We must serve our communities.
7. We must build our communities.
8. We should worship in community.
9. We must be loyal to our communities.
10. We should love our neighbors, follow the golden rule.
11. We should be compassionate towards others.
12. We should be charitable and generous towards others.
13. Reason matters.
14. Justice and social justice are logical requirements.
15. Peace and nonviolence are important within and between communities.
16. Truth, honesty and integrity are crucial virtues.
17. Ethical intent and behavior matter.
18. Individuals have clear duties and responsibilities to principles and communities.
19. Individuals should invest in their personal ethical growth.

Public-spiritedness is a universal value, virtue and principle. Reasonable people can wrestle with the trade-offs of personal and community interests. They should all agree that the public interest matters and must be considered. This is a universal value that society can use its power to impose upon members of society. This is very difficult for our ultra-individualist society to accept or embrace. Nonetheless, it is required. We should not hesitate to educate our children, set and enforce standards in our organizations, and promote this value throughout our society. It is required for “society”. We must not apologize.