Let’s start thinking like citizens and neighbors
Have you ever noticed that it’s really easy to think like a consumer, asking questions like: “What should I buy next? From where? And for how much?” Seems like such questions come naturally.
Other questions come less naturally, such as, “How are my neighbors doing? How can I help improve my town or city? Which policies will help make our democracy healthier? Or how can I help promote human rights around the globe?”
If you happen to be a person who asks some of these latter questions, you may be part of a trend among our generation that seems to be growing (and I pray continues, including in me).
But it is important to understand that as a society we’re struggling to come out of a historical low-point, when fewer and fewer of us stopped to think about our neighbors or our communities and focused on other, lesser things.
Understanding this low-point and its contributing factors (such as two-career families, long commutes, time in front of the TV, and out-of-whack materialism) helps us to recognize our habits of thought as part of a cultural malaise that we can and should work to get out of, for our own benefit and for the benefit of those around us.
All of this was expertly documented in Robert Putnam’s bestseller, Bowling Alone, published in 2000. The book comes highly recommended by all sorts of people who want to see this trend turned around. The book’s website is here.
Helpfully the same author has produced a second book and website designed to help us think of concrete ways to get out from behind our TV’s (or computers!), get involved with other people, and make a difference. In fact, Putnam and other leaders have generated an online list of 145 simple and concrete ways to get started.
Even a small step can be meaningful. What’s more, when we do things like this we not only help others; we make ourselves healthier. It’s all there, with tons of evidence to back it up, in Putnam’s book. I recommend it.
If you’d like a brief overview of it, here’s a slideshow from my recent lecture on the topic:
