At Our Best

The greater community of Frederick County Maryland is a vital assortment of

individual citizens, men, women, young and old, rich and poor, native-born and
newcomers, powerful and weak, each person striving in this place to make a life of
quality for themselves and their families
!s a community, as Fredericktonians, and as !mericans, we are at our best when
we balance our individual right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness with the
responsibility to do so in a way that does not deny others their right for the same
things "hile we may value most the preferences and paths we choose for our
own #ourney through life, we are at our best when we respect the rights of our
neighbors to choose paths and preferences different from our own, even to learn
from each other
!s a community, we live and work in our villages, towns and cities large and small
At our best, we choose to belong to those churches, civic groups, clubs and
associations, neighborhoods and places of work where we can best collaborate
with one another on the things that we care about for our mutual benefit
At our best, we elect competent, wise public leaders to govern us, appoint
officials to manage necessary functions, and we ourselves offer to serve to help
meet our collective needs as Frederick County
"e are at our best when we keep informed and are kept informed about our
neighborhood, our county, our region, and our world "e are at our best as
citizens when we participate and contribute our gifts, ideas and opinions in
whatever ways are necessary to ensure that Frederick County is a place where we
all can thrive
For Frederick County is really nothing but its people, individually and together, who
must engage one another in public discourse in all of the above forums,
organizations and workplaces that we have built !nd we are at our best when all
of that public discourse takes place with the practice of mutual respect and
responsibility $ with, in a word, civility
Developed by the Committee for Frederick County, Inc., a non-partisan non-profit organization that facilitates
consensus building and action on issues affecting the economic vitality and quality of life in Frederick County.
www.committeeforfrederickcounty.com
For the beneft of our community, we, public ofcials, candidates for public
ofce, community groups, the media, and individual citizens, agree to abide
by the following:
Code of Civility
For
The Community of Frederick County, aryland
!" #"$%"CTF&' (
!e a positive role model in public discourse by practicing courtesy and
consideration)
*hen advocating for a belief or position, ensure that criticism of
opposing viewpoints is e+pressed as criticism of a position, not of the
person stating it)
"ngage in respectful, non(,udgmental listening)
Through words and actions, demonstrate respect for the diverse views
of all citizens in our increasingly multi(cultural society)
!" #"$%-.$/!'" (
Clearly distinguish opinions from facts) "nsure all statements of fact are
accurate and verifable)
0emonstrate Fairness) "nsure that all sides have a fair opportunity to
present their respective positions)
*hile working toward the will of the ma,ority, respect the rights of the
minority)
#ecognize the value of achieving consensus as an important tool in
community building)
"+ercise your rights and responsibilities as a citizen) "ncourage others
to become informed and involved)
%eveloped by the Committee for Frederick County, &nc, a non-partisan non-profit organization that facilitates
consensus building and action on issues affecting the economic vitality and quality of life in Frederick County
www.committeeforfrederickcounty.com
Fact Sheet
What is Civility and Why is Civility Important in
Public Discourse?
What is civility?
Civility is behavior in public that demonstrates respect for others and that entails curtailing one's
own immediate self-interest when appropriate
&t is made up of three elements(
Civility as respect for others:
Civility is the common language for communicating respect for others and their views The
importance, in other words, is in the gesture of respect more than the outcome of the
behavior
Civility as public behavior:
Civility toward strangers requires that we behave in certain ways toward people who may
mean nothing to us, and whom we are unlikely ever to encounter again, in the interest of
hearing their thoughts
Civility as self-regulation:
Civility involves holding back in the pursuit of one's own immediate self-interest $ we desist
from doing what would be most pleasing to us for the sake of harmonious civil discourse
with others, even strangers
Why does civility matter?
Civility is a moral virtue:
Civility is a good in and of itself( )&t is morally better to be civil than uncivil' *eing civil
towards others is part of being a good and moral person More specifically, it signals to
other people our willingness to obey shared rules and to regulate our behavior so as not to
undermine their well being &t's about how we should treat our fellow citizens as opposed
to how we might feel like treating them
Civility aids social cooperation:
The spirit of mutual trust and norms of reciprocity enables citizens and groups to cooperate
spontaneously to achieve shared outcomes
Civility is the desirable alternative to imposed regulation:
The self-regulation that being civil demands of people is all that stands between us and the
necessity for coercive rules and regulations imposed by higher authority to counter uncivil
behavior
%eveloped by the Committee for Frederick County, &nc, a non-partisan non-profit organization that facilitates
consensus building and action on issues affecting the economic vitality and quality of life in Frederick County
www)committeeforfrederickcounty)com