Hey Trevor Perry, thanks for the links to the successful events on MP3 and
pillow fights. I agree that people will show up for some events (thousands
of people are attending political events to see and listen to Palin or Biden
or Obama or McCain)'
But sadly, people are more solitary and isolated and disconnected these
days. Remember the book "Bowling Alone"?
http://www.bowlingalone.com/
BOWLING ALONE: THE COLLAPSE AND
REVIVAL OF AMERICAN COMMUNITY
by Robert D. Putnam
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000).
In a groundbreaking book based on vast new data, Putnam shows how we have
become increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbors, and our
democratic structures-- and how we may reconnect.
Putnam warns that our stock of social capital - the very fabric of our
connections with each other, has plummeted, impoverishing our lives and
communities.
Putnam draws on evidence including nearly 500,000 interviews
over the last quarter century to show that we sign fewer petitions, belong
to fewer organizations that meet, know our neighbors less, meet with friends
less frequently, and even socialize with our families less often. We're even
bowling alone. More Americans are bowling than ever before, but they are not
bowling in leagues. Putnam shows how changes in work, family structure, age,
suburban life, television, computers, women's roles and other factors have
contributed to this decline.
America has civicly reinvented itself before -- approximately 100 years ago
at the turn of the last century. And America can civicly reinvent itself
again - find out how and help make it happen at our companion site,
BetterTogether.org, an initiative of the Saguaro Seminar on Civic Engagement
at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
Here's how to:
• Order (or review) the book at Amazon.com. You might want to order for your
reading group, book club, class you teach or for your organization
• Read excerpt of the book
• Find information on Prof. Robert D. Putnam
• Learn about efforts to help Americans reconnect, and how you can get
involved, at BetterTogether.org, an initiative of the Saguaro Seminar on
Civic Engagement at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
• Access the bibliography for the book.
• Access the data used in Bowling Alone, along with additional information
not found in the book
• Listen to Prof. Putnam's interview on NPR's All Things Considered
• .
Please spread the word:
• E-mail your friends and colleagues to let them know about the book.
• Mention the book and this web site in Internet discussions, bulletin
boards, and newsletters.
• Tell practitioners and professors, and teachers to use it in their class
or review it in professional publications.
• Get the book reviewed in your local newspape or community and
organizational newsletters.
midrange.com
