Get Involved in Your Community
The Denver Post
March 18, 2001

I never thought I'd agree with anything Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had to say. Well, I was wrong. Recently, he made some comments that I heartily support. They were about the importance of being involved in one's community.

Justice Scalia lamented the tendency so many of us have to work extra long hours, at the expense of our families and communities. "We have many responsibilities before the job," he said. "We have many responsibilities to community, to state. . . .One who is not doing these is not being a full participant."

Cheers to Justice Scalia. America was built on the commitment of her citizens to their communities, to improving the well-being of the whole society, not just themselves. This custom is far less common in other countries, even in the developed world where people do have the time to volunteer, to give back, to help one another. It is a deeply-grounded, unique American tradition.

Recently, a caring couple gave $250 million to the University of Colorado because they wanted to make a difference for people with mental impairments caused by birth defects, accidents or illness. They believed their country had enabled them to be enormously successful. They wanted to do something for those Americans who need a helping hand.

That gift is the largest ever to a public university. While it is far beyond what most of us can do, each of us can give something to our schools, our kids' sports teams, our religious and community institutions. That something may be time or money or both. Such participation, no matter how it is done, is one of the underpinnings of America.

The late Tweet Kimball loved her ranch and her Santa Gertrudis cattle. She watched with dismay as Denver's sprawl inundated Douglas County, worried that nothing would be left of the beautiful canyons and buttes she treasured. To preserve part of a unique way of life and the landscape she valued, she donated a conservation easement on her ranch, along with her "castle" home. Because of her commitment to her community and her state, we are all richer.

Every week-end, you'll see thousands of kids throughout Colorado playing soccer, coached by their parents. Other parents line fields, referee games and raise money for uniforms and soccer balls. They're just some of countless Coloradans who support their communities by participating in their children's sports leagues.

But, we all know kids who need rides to the games because their parents are just too busy to take them and watch them for an hour. Maybe we, too, have been guilty of missing our children's school plays or choir concerts or debates because we just had to finish that brief or business plan.

We've all heard of important community programs that get dropped because there aren't enough volunteers to staff them. We know of organizations who need experienced, thoughtful board members so they can continue to offer vital social services to ill or destitute or hungry people. We can be the ones who fill those gaps, even if only in a small way.

It's not just being a good American that should drive us to contribute to our communities. It is also the enormous satisfaction of making a difference. Whether you testify before a legislative committee on behalf of your favorite cause or take your kids camping to show them the beauty of the outdoors, it is very fulfilling to do something you believe in.

So many of us think we are nailed to our jobs. Or that we have to earn that extra dollar to give our kids what they need. Well, the greatest need our children-and our communities-have is us. We are the ones who can set the moral standards and lead the efforts to improve our, and others, lives. We can give the gift of time and energy. We simply have to determine what our priorities are. Justice Scalia was right when he urged us above all to be full participants in our families and our communities.