National Association of Counties * Washington, DC / Vol. 30, No. 14 * July 20, 1998

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(Neal Peirce is a syndicated columnist who writes about local government issues. His columns do not reflect the opinions of County News or NACo.)

The Fourth of July weekend: With a fiery outburst of firecrackers, cherry bombs, rockets bursting in air, the American nation reaches for militant symbolism to celebrate its birth.

It's harmless, of course: Who doesn't enjoy a good fireworks display? And it's true: We did win our freedom in a Revolutionary War, and preserve it through several more.

But is today's America unwisely hung up on forceful, aggressive ways to resolve difference? Check out the violence of our pro sports, our movies, videos and television, our oft-reported physical abuse within families, and you have to wonder. Or look at the latest evidence: the guns on our streets infiltrating our schools - and now being used.

As a society, notes Beverly Cigler, a professor of public policy at Penn State/Harrisburg, we're often into abusively tough war, sports - and yes! - even cannibalistic language.

Cigler shared with me samples of her collection of prevalent Americanisms:

War Language: It's an explosive situation. Torpedo that idea. The proposal's dead on arrival. Stick to your guns. It's an uphill battle. It's a minefield. Bullets were flying. Let's plan our offensive.

Sports Language: Face-off. Hit me with your best shot. Throw a curve. No holds barred. Knock his socks off. It's a knockout. Pin him down. Beat him to the punch. Play hardball. Take him out. She's a loser. If you're not a winner, you're a loser.

Cannibalistic language: Chew him up and spit him out. Go for the jugular. We'll devour them. Dog eat dog. Bash their brains out.

Few of these phrases will help American society deal with its most critical challenges, Cigler says.

In the global age now dawning, she asserts, the secrets to success are encompassed in quite different terms: cooperation, collaboration, communication, networking, alliances, joint ventures, partnerships.

All match the model of a world driven more by economics than military power, by team achievements rather than solo plays.

Advanced businesses, savvy nonprofits, reinvented governments all use that kind of vocabulary. One could add companion words: interactive, flextime, work groups, regionalism, cross-border accords. And even some sports/war phrases: Be a team player. Give it your best shot. Go the extra mile. Build bridges.

Sometimes applying the new vocabulary in government is the toughest of all. Regional cohesion among towns, cities and counties has been described as "an unnatural act among rarely consenting jurisdictions."

Indeed, intermunicipal wars are now legendary. Urban journalist and author Grady Clay suggests two nations have risen among us. First there's the City - its roots in the historic, tightly packed cities of Europe and the Middle East, with ancient cultures based on "walking distance." Until the 1940s "downtown" was the only game in town and the City's center was undisputed headquarters for its region.

Meanwhile a new competitive nation has arisen in Suburbia, a revolt against what historic towns and cities represented: central authority and close physical proximity (particularly with strangers). With decades of cheap gasoline, Suburbia has created a world revolving around private auto dominance.

Each nation, Clay asserts, "patrols its boundaries with attorneys, with distinctively uniformed and sometimes armed and motorized guards; each protects its borders by delegation to the state legislature. And like sovereign nations, when they get on a map they distinguish themselves with different names and colors."

Many people say the standoff of City and Suburb is incurable. Many also declared there would always be two Germanys and two Berlins. But the Berlin Wall did come down. German city and nation were reunited.

If we hope for an American nation that's more than a collection of separate, mutually antagonistic places, we must reach for accords that let our own walls come tumbling down. And language to match. A new era of coalition and alliance building is critical. It must, says Cigler, be based on intensive, frequent, durable trust building interactions of caring communities which see a true "shared destiny."

(c) 1997, Washington Post Writers Group