Across the country, public library systems are being gutted as states and localities slash their budgets. Libraries are an easy target – often seen as non-essential services. But our support of libraries is a test: do we believe communities are important? The truth is that public libraries don’t need to be protected from budget cuts; their budgets need to be expanded. Here’s why.

I can imagine many people might be asking why Calvin Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C. named Natalie Randolph, a woman, as their head football coach. But when I read about her, I didn’t wonder why a woman was the head coach, but how the rest of us, of either gender, can be clear on what really matters.

Like you, I have been watching the BP oil spill spread across the Gulf Coast. The potential negative effects are beyond imagination. Or, as BP might say, they’re “Beyond Petroleum,” the company’s clever tagline. So, when things go wrong, as they have with BP, I’m wondering: is there a difference between contrition and responsibility?

Each of us wants our work and efforts in community and public life to be relevant. It’s something I hear everywhere I go. Last week, when hosting the Hands On Network LEAD Summit at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., I found myself saying: to be relevant requires that you are accountable.

There’s a desperate need to re-engage Americans in the work of our communities – the work of our country. The first step is not to launch into yet another new program, but rather to pry open space for people to see and hear themselves again. This is at the heart of our nation’s challenge today. The perfect leader for this discussion is President Obama.

My house still smells from ashes. Out of the blue last week I got a call that the house next door was engulfed in flames and that my home would be next. At the time, my family and I were in Upstate New York and could do little but wait. But what would constitute good news in this kind of situation? What does one hope for, or even expect? Here’s what I’m thinking about today.

In recent days, many people have urged me to write about the acrimonious and divisive public discourse that has gripped the nation around health care. But each time someone has made this request, I found that they themselves would engage in some form of incivility. The question is: Where are we right now, and where do we want to go?