Quotes To Inspire

Oh my, our blog is starting to get more traffic.

Thanks to those of you who visit this site monthly and or weekly, your views and comments are much appreciated. For you first time readers, this is our Neighborhood Association blog. We active citizens in the Omaha Deer Park neighborhood wanted to start a site that would allow readers to learn of the things occurring in our neighborhood. On this site you can learn of not only the things we are doing to improve our community, but the concepts and ideas that spur our ambitions. I started this posting group called Think Tank to share the different scholars and teachings I am using to implement new growth strategies in our neighborhood.  

In this month’s Think Tank I wanted to share some timeless teachings. Now I know that there are a few renditions of the preceding quotes, but please do not get a hang up on if it was quoted perfectly. All these quotes have been written in several versions of their according texts. Personally, I recite a saying or proverb in my mind on an hourly basis, not sure why. I often wonder if others do as well, I bet you do. Regardless, the following quotes are ones that I think to myself on a monthly if not weekly basis. I hope they motivate you as much as they do me. Enjoy!

"Do all the good you can, and make as little fuss about it as possible." - Charles Dickens

While the spirit of neighborliness was important on the frontier because neighbors were so few, it is even more important now because our neighbors are so many.  - Lady Bird Johnson

"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile." - Albert Einstein

“One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade. “- Chinese Proverb

“...A community needs a soul if it is to become a true home for human beings. You, the people must give it this soul.” - Pope John Paul II
“When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

"Some people give time, some money, some their skills and connections, some literally give their life's blood. But everyone has something to give." - Barbara Bush

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." Mahatma Gandhi 



"To give, and not to count the cost  to fight, and not to heed the wounds,  to toil, and not to seek for rest,  to labor, and not to ask for any reward, “ — St. Ignatius of Loyola

“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was:  "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?"  But... the good Samaritan reversed the question:  "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?" - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I am only one, But still I am one. I cannot do everything, But still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do." - Helen  Keller

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”  -Winston Churchill

"I know of no great men except those who have rendered great service to the human race." – Voltaire 

“We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.” - Cesar Chavez

An Introduction to Social Exclusion

The concept of social exclusion is used in different ways, but in most cases is often viewed as synonymous with poverty, inadequate social participation, lack of social integration, and or lack of power. Canadian Sociologist Dr. Daniel Béland of the School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan, briefly outlines the history of this concept in his work, The Social Exclusion Discourse: Ideas and Policy Change. Béland's work reveals that two principle writings by Jean Klanfer and René Lenoir, offer insight into understanding the formulating concepts of social exclusion. Klanfer’s 1965 book, L’Exclusion sociale: Étude de la marginalité dans les sociétés occidentales [Social exclusion: The study of marginality in western societies], emphasized personal responsibility. Béland cites that in this writing, the term ‘social exclusion’ refers to people who cannot enjoy the positive consequences of economic progress due to irresponsible behavior (Klanfer, 1965). Acknowledging the existence of social exclusion as a denial in opportunities for economic progress, René Lenoir sought variables aside from, self induced “irresponsible behavior”. In Lenoir’s, Les exclus: Un français sur dix [The excluded: One Frenchman out of ten], excluded peoples, les exclus, were those citizens separated from mainstream society because of factors like disability, mental illness and poverty (Lenoir, 1974).

Béland elaborates that, although Lenoir’s social exclusion is where our modern use of the term emerged, the prevalence of modern social problems like long-term unemployment combined with growing concerns about racism and discrimination, have altered the meaning of social exclusion. The imperative notion to gain, arising out of the evolution of the term’s definition, is that social exclusion’s existence is rarely debated. Proceeding Klanfer and Lenoir’s works, researchers and civic advocates across the globe have spent the last three decades engaged in debates on the social implications of social exclusion. Béland states that the modern social exclusion paradigm revolves around how a lack of social integration, relates to limited access to labor market opportunities. Some state that an individual’s segregation, or social exclusion, from community and civic opportunities has no weight on their ability to maintain long-term employment. Others state that, not addressing policies to combat racism and social exclusion leads to increased long-term unemployment in addition to crime. Regardless of the position, several things can be concluded of social exclusion discussions.

Sir Tony Atkinson an academic based at Oxford University, argued in a 1998 article, that in discussions of social exclusion, three main themes recur:

v  Relativity - Social exclusion is relative to the norms and expectations of society at a particular point in time;

v  Agency - Social exclusion is caused by an act of some individual, group, or institution. A person may exclude themselves by choice or they may be excluded by the decisions of other people, organizations or institutions;

v  Dynamics - People are excluded not just because of current circumstances (e.g., unemployment /underemployment), but because they have little prospects for the future. “Social exclusion may apply across generations.”

In his article, Social Exclusion, Unemployment, and Poverty, Atkinson makes several conclusions in regards to social exclusion; (1) Since Social exclusion is not just a matter for one government department, the setting up of the inter-departmental Social Exclusion Unit is essential, (2) government policy can make a difference, and (3) economic analysis, for all its limitations, does have a useful role to play in illuminating the different elements of social exclusion.

As has been previously noted, one purpose of this blog is to link concepts and theory to modern practice and application. Upon reviewing introductory readings and research on social exclusion, I have begun to ponder how to apply this to our third sector (non profit)’s mission and strategies. Rather than engage in the paradigm debate of social exclusion implications, I seek to incorporate/address the preceding concepts in our organizations growth strategies.

In consideration of Sir Atkinson’s conclusions, I see it imperative that we address such concerns on a civic organization level. In spirit of linking concepts to practice, I move that our organization establish something in essence of a Social Exclusion Unit, strategize a policy to mend social exclusion, and promote analysis to understand the different elements of our areas' elements of social exclusion.  I would like to publically thank Sir Atkinson and Dr.Béland for their recent work in this field, and highly encourgae the reading of their works through the links provided in this post. 

Oscar Duran: President

Think Tank

Greetings all and I welcome you to our Think Tank. The purpose of this project is to offer researchers, scholars, public officials, residents, and community advocates, opportunities to examine theories and strategies our organization uses to spur positive change and growth in our neighborhood.

I debated launching a dedicated blog to host this information, but wished to provide readers a connecting path between theory and application.  Blog posts tagged “Think Tank” will offer readers insight into civic concepts and theories that have inspired us most. Blog posts tagged “An Exciting Future” will update readers on our current community projects.  For those of you unfamiliar with the blog layouts, you may look to column on the left and select the posts groups by their according tags. In other words, if you click the Tag group, “Think Tank”, only posts with this tag will come up on the blog page.

Managed by volunteers, The Deer Park Neighborhood Association uses grass roots tactics to improve and strengthen our community. Please, I encourage your input and comments on all posts. I aspire for a network of community advocates to engage one another on this blog. With your comments and input, I am certain we can continue to improve our neighborhood and the field of community development.

Oscar Duran: Secretary