As individuals we can change the contour of a day, the mood of a moment, the way people fe

el. The demolition and reconstruction of public life is the result of personal decisions made every day: the decision to give up a seat on the bus; the decision to be patient or pleasant against all the odds; the decision to let that jerk take a left-hand turn from a right-hand lane without rolling down the window and calling him a jerk. Its the resolution to be a civil, social creature. This may be a peak period for the battle against the spread of a waistline and creeping cholesterol. But it is also within our will power to fight the spread of urban rudeness and creeping hostility. Civility doesnt stop nuclear holocaust and doesnt put a roof over the head of the homeless. But it makes a difference in the shape of a community, as surely as lifting weights can make a difference in the shape of a human torso.