Celebrating Values

A great civilization is a drama lived in the minds of a people.  It is a shared vision;  it is shared norms, expectations, and purposes.
…Every healthy society celebrates its values.  They are expressed in art, in song, in ritual.  They are stated explicitly in historical documents, in ceremonial speeches, in textbooks.  They are reflected in stories told around the campfire, in the legends kept alive by old folks, in the fables told to children.
…Values always decay over time.  Societies that keep their values alive do so not by escaping the processes of decay but by powerful processes of regeneration.  There must be perpetual rebuilding.  Each generation must rediscover the living elements in its own tradition and adapting them to present realities.  To assist in that rediscovery is one of the tasks of leadership.
—    John W. Gardner
From his book:  “On Leadership“
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