The good news is that I've gotten a lot Bowling Alone reading done lately but the bad news is that I was left with little time to blog. So, now I don't know where to begin with the plethora of topics and comment-worthy statements that I've covered in the book since I last wrote. How about I just get right to the answer to the mystery of what has caused Americans to be less civicly engaged since the mid-1960s? The author was even so clear as to put it in a pie chart (keeping in mind that, by the author's own admission, this is only a "guesstimation.").
Spoiler Alert! Maybe you don't want to know what the author comes up with before you read the book yourself! For the rest of you:
What caused a decline in social capital?
10% - pressures of time and money
10% - suburbanization, commuting, sprawl
25% - more time spent with electronic entertainment with TV being the #1 culprit
50% - "generational change" - the slow, steady replacement of the best civic generation (those who lived during WWII) with their less involved children and grandchildren.
The leftover is "other" or "unknown" reasons.
***And, 10%-15% of the generational change percent may be a combination of generational change and the introduction of TV.
Basically, WWII brought the nation together. Then, people were born and grew up who never experienced the war and once television came along, well, forget about it! Then, too much television, too much of the wrong KIND of television (just stick with PSB and you'll be okay) and even HOW we watch television (don't channel surf-ever again!) has made us depressed, unmotivated, and, like my Mom said to me many times, "a lump on the log." Of course, there are the other reason of time, money, suburbanization, commuting, changing family structures, and sprawl but the book was very damning concerning the impact of television on society.
One more point before this post gets too long:
The author quoted the movie Saving Private Ryan when he stated that what we need to boost social capital is "the moral equivalent of war." If WWII brought the nation together to the point of creating what the book calls the "civic generation," did the U.S. experience the same thing after 911? This book was published one year before 911. My thought is that the nation came together and then became quickly divided among ourselves. Why was 911 so different than WWII? They were certainly different events. There was no great collective victory to celebrate with 911 as with the battle victories and marches of WWII. Maybe it was just a different time and a different generation?
I'd better finish this book soon before my husband throws it out the window. Every time he flops on the couch and channel-surfs or watches some mindless entertainment he has to hear from me start, "The book says..."
This blog contains information and my personal reflections about the book, Bowling Alone, by Robert Putnam. It is being created for a Colorado State University graduate school class, EDAE 692.
Your posts are very entertaining!
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that WWII brought the nation together, and then the generations after, forgot about it. I think we have lost touch with our nation and community. (I'm not sure how channel surfing can account for this). Technology overall may be a culprit though. Though designed to bring us closer, are we actually growing apart?
I wonder if the author would consider post 9-11 a time of togetherness as a community. Much like his example of WWII. Or maybe it doesn't look so closely at a short time period? I would assume our nation as a whole was much closer and had a much more significant sense of community at least for a short time following the attacks. Although as with most things we have short memories and soon forget and return to our regualr routines.
ReplyDeleteI read your blog and a comment my husband makes over and over popped into my head. He's a retired Naval Commander so keep that in mind as I type this. He believes every young person, once they graduate from high school, should not go into college right away but instead should enroll in some type of civil service for two years. His reasons for this are it gives kids (especially the entitlement generation) an appreciation for all their country has done for them and may instill the seed of giving back. I've been thinking a lot about your blog and how we've become so anti-social and how it's changed so much from when I was a kid. I talked to my mom about it and she said while all her kids were growing up she knew all the neighbors well, knew where they worked and when everyone came home at night. She knew all the kids too and where they went to school and even the sports they played in. You're right in that we are not involved civically at all and that's wrong. It's got to be more than helping out every Thanksgiving at the soup kitchen but I'm not sure how to get that going with my girls. Great thoughts on your blog.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree that there was a feeling of togetherness after 9-11, but that time of pride was allowed to fall by the wayside. I remember thinking that this was a great opportunity to unite the country and do something powerful, and that no one really stepped up to lead the effort.
ReplyDeleteWithout the leadership, the feelings dissipated and has not been recaptured. I'd love to see the country come together in spirit again, although without the shocking event and casualties. I'm not sure what might, or might not, cause it to happen.
Margaret
Margaret, your comment about coming together in spirit without having to have a war is exactly why the quote, "the moral equivalent of war" struck me. I'm trying to think of something that was so wonderful (instead of something horrible like war) that it had a joining effect on the U.S. It's not the U.S. but the Chilean miners come to mind. What a success and it seemed to bring Chileans together. I don't know. I'm still thinking...
ReplyDeleteNancy, thanks for all the thoughts. What your Mom describes is exactly what the author claims helps people turn out to be healthy, happy, well-rounded people. He says we (like your Mom's generation, I imagine) used to look out for each other. Taking your Mom's experience as an example: everyone in the neighborhood knew each other and so they knew when someone was not acting properly, was distraught, or needed any kind of help. And, because they were a community, they didn't just keep their mouths shut because it wasn't their business. They spoke up and people got the help they needed. As a result, people felt cared for, loved, and knew they had a support system. Today, the author claims, a lack of this support system causes much, much depression and has even lead to an increase in suicides. I don't think your husband has a bad idea. Actually, in the chapter I just read, yet another study indicated that it didn't matter if community service was done voluntarily or as a mandatory requirement; it still had the same impact of improving social capital among the participants.
Kelly, I too was wondering about the author's views of post-911 life in the U.S. Once I finish the book (I'm so close!), I plan to do some research into that.
Thanks, Shawna! :) Yeah, the author calls the people who experienced WWII "the greatest civil generation" because of their high involvement in social capital producing activities. It's interesting. Oh, by the way, the "no channel surfing" bit is one of those they-have-statistics-on-EVERYTHING parts of the book. The author states statistics that he says indicate that people who always turn on the tv without anything in particular in mind to watch (just turning on the tv for the sake of turning it on and randomly flipping through the channels) are especially prone to not participating in community activities as opposed to people who turn on the tv because they have a specific show they want to watch. I don't know! :)