John W. Gardner on Civic Action & Community Engagement
A selection of inspiring quotes
On Citizen Engagement
“Our system simply will not evolve as it should evolve without substantially greater citizen engagement. Participation requires that citizens deliberate, perform community service, monitor government and engage in civic action. They must put their backs into problems such as the schools, and crime and the environment and balancing the budget.
Voting isn’t enough. Your vote is crucial, but your responsibility doesn’t end there. It begins there.”
— American Leadership Forum, Class VIII Graduation San Jose 1997
On Working Together
“If society is disintegrating, the responsibility of the individual is to join with others in the task of regeneration. The individual is part of something larger — a community, a cultural and spiritual heritage, humankind.” — Morale, 1979
“We shall not get through our troubles safely until a considerable number of Americans acknowledge that they themselves are part of the process by which society will be made whole. For those who are honestly concerned to solve the problems of this society, there is hope.” — The Recovery of Confidence, 1970
On Youth Leadership
“The young people of our society have given ample evidence of their desire to create a better world.
Many of our best young people today wonder whether they have any place in this vast and complicated society of ours.
They feel anonymous and rootless and alienated. They are oppressed by the impersonality of our institutions. In my judgment there isn’t any quicker cure for that ailment than evidence that their society needs them. I don’t think there could be anything better for a great many of our young people than a period of hard voluntary service in a venture surrounded by a spirit of dedication.” — No Easy Victories, 1968
On Risking Failure
“There is risk for those who take the lead in rebuilding. People who act and initiate make mistakes. People seeking the path to the future often wind up in blind alleys. Those who have the confidence to act creatively to regenerate the society must also have the humility to know the danger of overestimating what they can accomplish.” — Morale, 1979
On Building and Rebuilding Society
“We cannot wait for elected leaders to sketch the future for us. We are the source. We shall conceive it, we shall design it, and we shall put it in operation.
We are the builders and the rebuilders. More and more individuals are beginning to understand that concept and to act on it.
It is an exhilarating burden for those strong enough to bear it. And more and more individuals are finding that strength within them.” — Morale, 1979
On Creating a Shared Vision
“We need more than individual value systems; we need a shared vision. A nation is held together by shared values, shared beliefs, shared attitudes. That is what enables a people to maintain a cohesive society despite the tensions of daily life. That is what enables them to rise above the conflicts that plague any society. This what gives a nation its tone, its fiber, its integrity, its moral style, its capacity to endure.” — The Recovery of Confidence, 1970
