When President Obama spoke earlier this week about the citizens in Fargo, North Dakota who, by texting, phoning, e-mailing and tweeting friends, family and neighbors, were able to assemble an army of volunteers to hold back the Red River and save their community, it reminded me, again, of the power of ordinary people to come together, through technology, to affect change.It's hard to imagine this army, made up of tens of thousands of individuals who made the conscious choice to awaken at all hours of the day and night, to dress and venture out into the cold, the dark and wet to work side by side filling sand bags, stacking them and securing them atop saturated levees to keep the frigid rising waters in check.
Individuals from nearby communities who were not directly threatened by the potential disaster, nonetheless traveled into potential danger to stand with and work beside those who were engaged in the struggle.
This remarkable army of teachers, students, farmers, public servants, politicians, bankers, cooks, housewives and husbands, children and grandparents demonstrated a collective commitment to community when faced with disaster that we've seen demonstrated over and over again in communities across the country and around the world.
Harnessing this network and understanding the possibilities it presents in our communities, on a daily basis, is intriguing to me. What are the keys to fully engaging community?
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