First: Shovel your neighbor’s walk. If his car’s stuck, stop to help. If you’re neighbor’s out of town on garbage day, get his trash can to the curb and back.

Second: Return that grocery cart to the place provided for returning carts, never leaving it in the handicapped stall or half jacked up on the curb of the planter with a nearly-finished Big Gulp in the cup holder. When you see a lost cart, guide it to where it belongs.

Third: Whenever you see a kid selling lemonade from a sidewalk stand, stop and buy a glass. Even if you hate lemonade. Especially if you’re running late. Your quarter means nothing to you and everything to her.

Fourth: Give cuts in line. Hold doors for everyone, not just for women. Life is not a race. Never was. First one through the door should be saying, “Thank you.”

Fifth: Move your lips when you read. Spend some time every week reading out loud to someone you love. We each need story time.

Civil society requires personal civility. It might seem silly that our way of life relies more upon you returning an empty grocery cart than your willingness to bear arms, but consider the number of opportunities you have to defend our way of life. Few of them involve much more than shoveling your neighbor’s walk. So do that. Zealously, if you prefer.

Instead of waving a flag, wave your behavior. Together, with tiny generous acts, good citizens create and sustain a truly civil society.