Brookings pastor Carl Kline: Public institutions play an important role in ensuring people have better, fuller lives

For three years we lived in New York City while I attended graduate school. Our home was a residence hall with other married couples, just a few blocks from a large public housing project.

As I was working with the Youth Department of Riverside Church as my field work, I would often visit young people in their apartments in “the project.” Even in the 1960s there was a tendency for people to discount those living in “public” housing in “projects.” And the city was famous for building housing projects but not keeping them in good repair.

Nevertheless, people had a roof over their heads and many people of color were accepted as residents, not rejected because of their race. (I heard many stories from the young people I worked with of rejections because of the color of their skin). We are rich in this country with an inheritance of so much that is “public.” We have provided places and spaces and services for everyone, rich and poor, male and female, white, Black and every color and racial background one can imagine. Especially in a democratic society, where there is a recognition of the significance of each and every individual, it seems important to celebrate and protect “public” institutions.

For instance, we are a nation of public schools. There is an understanding that the educational process belongs to everyone. You don’t have to be rich or white or a particular faith background. (You can establish a private school if those are your entrance requirements).

But in a democracy, where all are created equal, access to a basic public education should be available to all. In the same way, public libraries (like Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library above, one of the oldest free public libraries in the United States, as seen in a public domain image posted on wikimedia commons) are for the public. I’m certain library shelves contain books I will never read; many I would not want to read. But as a public library they are there to serve everyone, not just me or people with my interests.

Both of these public institutions, schools and libraries, have come under attack in recent days from some in our society, who believe we should be emphasizing learning and values more in keeping with their preferences. Books are removed from shelves and history texts are modified and “corrected.” 

Increasingly, it’s incumbent on those of us who appreciate public education and public libraries to support them and other public institutions. What kind of society would we be if we didn’t have public roads, or public parks.

At our Nature Park you can walk several trails, or bike, or kayak, or canoe. You can picnic at several local public parks, or swim, play handball, tennis and soon, pickleball. How about a free band concert in the park? Just bring your chairs. 

What would our communities be like if we didn’t have public services, like water, sewer and garbage collection? Should we each have a well, an outhouse, and a garbage pit in our backyard? Especially in more urban areas, how would people manage without public transportation?

I can’t imagine what Chicago and New York would be like without public bus, train and subway systems. And as we live in a rapidly changing climate, we need fewer cars on the road and more public transportation.

I’ve always been grateful when on the road for public rest stops. It can be especially helpful for the public restrooms. You can relieve yourself, satisfy your thirst and stretch your legs. That makes it all the more disturbing to see South Dakota removing rest stops, like the one between Brookings and Watertown. (At least they have recently added a port-a-potty where a building once stood). 

There’s also the idea of “public” service. I fear we are losing the appropriate emphasis on “public.” Especially on the national scene, where the servants are more distant from those they serve, “public service” is increasingly replaced by service to the “party,” or service to donors or self.

And finally there is public worship. No one stands at the door to check your ID. There is no test to determine if you are gay or lesbian, Asian American or recent African immigrant. No one asks your religious background or if you are an unbeliever.

You don’t even have to show you have something for the offering plate. All are welcome. And that warm welcoming attitude is what has defined much of our “public” institutions. May it continue!

Carl Kline of Brookings is a United Church of Christ clergyman and adjunct faculty member at the Mt. Marty College campus in Watertown. He is a founder and on the planning committee of the Brookings Interfaith Council, co-founder of Nonviolent Alternatives, a small not-for-profit that, for 15 years, provided intercultural experiences with Lakota/Dakota people in the Northern Plains and brought conflict resolution and peer mediation programs to schools around the region. He was one of the early participants in the development of Peace Brigades International. Kline can be reached at carl@satyagrahainstitute.org. This column originally appeared in the Brookings Register.