MPR: Commentary: Steve Ward

Commentary: Steve Ward
April 2000

Steve Ward

Steve Ward is a licensed psychologist and a management consultant specializing in organizational change. He is also a regional coordinator for the Center for Reducing Rural Violence, a program of the Council on Crime and Justice. He is currently working with six rural communities to develop and implement violence-reduction plans. A native of St. Paul, he now resides in Itasca County, closer to the Canadian border than to his birthplace.

I FACILITATED a town meeting recently in a rural community still raw from a gang-related homicide, arson attempts and the all-too-frequent domestic disputes leading to injury or death. At the end of the meeting, a participant said, "Thanks for coming, you give us hope for the future."

Violence exists in rural America just as it does in urban centers. It always has. We've just never had to face it on a daily basis like folks in the metro areas. I grew up in the Twin Cities and after awhile the daily murder and mayhem just became part of the normal background noise. Here in rural Minnesota, a murder or a kidnapping grabs you by the throat and demands your attention. It kind of shakes you out of your denial.

We walk a fine line between denial and despair and both can be dangerous. Denial blinds us to the causes of violence on our Main Street. Despair can drive us indoors and deprive us of a sense of safety in our own towns. Once we hunker down indoors, stop walking at night, keep our kids at home and stop talking with neighbors over the fence, we're on our way to a fragmented, frightened community, which is a perfect breeding ground for crime.

The people in rural communities I've worked with for the past couple of years have taught me some things. The first is that I, like many others, was not sufficiently sensitive to the level of violence I accept as "background noise" in our society. I suppose this is a form of denial.

The second, and more important, thing that I learned is that we, average everyday people, can do something about it. My county sheriff said at a town meeting I attended, "If there is only one thing you can do to reduce crime in your neighborhood, it is to know your neighbors and look out for each other." In other words, don't let your community become fragmented; don't give in to despair and alarm.

It pleases me that I can "bring hope" to a community, but you don't need an outsider for that. You can do it the old-fashioned way. Set and enforce high standards for your community. Look out for your neighbors. And above all, teach your kids to be kind.

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