Today, the United States faces a new challenge, but this time the threat is from within: growing cynicism in government, civic dysfunction and challenges to democratic institutions.

There should be a coordinated effort by leaders here — government, civic and business — to help solve this problem.

Archon Fung, professor of citizenship and self-government at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, said about civics and civility: “When we look back, we will see that some communities handled the crisis much better than others. We might well find that success came in states where government, civic and private-sector leaders joined their strengths together in a spirit of self-sacrifice for the common good.”

On Thursday in Poultney, education, government, civic planners and community foundations will gather for a brainstorming session as the town copes with the coming loss of Green Mountain College and its 150 employees.

Monuments are the sort of thing that are generally imposed on the public from the top down: a government, civic or artistic authority manifesting its presence in bronze.