When I was a child and got emotional or argumentative with my mother, she used to tell me, “Go to your room and 
I complied for years before I finally understood the definition of “civil.” It’s a concept I think we all need to review in our daily interactions, and model for our own children and grandchildren.
In its simplest definition, to be civil means to be “adequate in courtesy and politeness.” In other words, it means to have reasonably decent manners and treat other people the way we would like to be treated.
Remember those things we were admonished not to do in grade school? Don’t call people names, even in jest. Don’t tell lies. Don’t cheat. Don’t spread rumors. Be kind, even when you disagree. Respect your elders. Say “please” and “thank you.” You know, the really basic stuff?
It’s easy to be rude. It’s easy to be negative and cranky and judgmental and unforgiving. But all those things are also detrimental to our personal and societal health.
The word civil is also where we get the words civilized and civilization. When we begin to rationalize exchanging common courtesy and politeness for bad behavior to boost our egos, promote our opinions, or for some other selfish agenda, civilization begins to unravel at the edges, and that’s a slippery slope.
I was impressed by the number of people who came out Tuesday for the Meeker town council meeting. I was surprised by how few comments and questions they had to offer. Hopefully, their questions were answered by what they heard. That’s the goal… attend a meeting, get your questions answered. The next meeting is tonight, after press time. We’ll see how that goes.
The Herald Times is sponsoring a fundraising event for St. Patrick’s Day to help our friends and neighbors who are battling multiple sclerosis.
It’s a subject that’s close to my heart. My favorite elementary school teacher was diagnosed with MS while I was in high school. A friend from my graduating class contracted a particularly severe form of MS in college. He was in a wheelchair for our 10th reunion and passed away not long after. And a dear friend who lived with us for a couple years and helped me immeasurably when I had four children under the age of seven, and who now has three beautiful children of her own, was diagnosed a couple years ago.
We’re looking for volunteers to help plan, organize and implement the first ever St. Pat’s Day Festival in Meeker, with kids’ events in the afternoon and a dance in the evening. If you can help, please call Pat at 970-948-7617 or email [email protected].
