What a difference a decade makes

I am currently mid-way through Chapter 4 right now, and quite frankly I am not impressed with with this book.  I am desperately hoping that this book presents something profound or captivating, because right now I am falling asleep every time I open the book. 

As I read this book, I do get the feeling that this book is already outdated even though it was published 10 years ago.  I was struck by the claim that voting rates were continuously falling, so I went to the U.S. Census bureau to see what the voting rates were within the past decade.  In 2000, 54.75 of American's turned out to vote for the presidential election, in 2004, 58.3% voted, and in 2008 58.2% voted.  These numbers rival the voting turnout of the early 1980's.  (http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/publications/historical/index.html)

Recent political movements such as the Tea Party have also mobilized many American's to participate in political discourse.  I see so many organizations and social groups around me I have a hard time believing that my perspective of American culture is so unique that it is an exception to the rule - as this book is clearly trying to tell me. 

Let's hope this gets better....

Initial Thoughts - Chapter 1

Last night I began reading Bowling Alone, by Robert D. Putnam.  As I began reading the book, it rekindled thoughts I had when I read The Greatest Generation, by Tom Brokaw.  While reading that book, I admired the accomplishments my grandparent's generation achieved, but I couldn't help but feel like they were being put on a pedestal, while subsequent generations have been compared to an impossible golden standard.  

Having only read the first chapter of Putnam's book, he introduces the concept of social capital, and how it is integral to not only individual success, but the success of the community at large.  Immediately, he begins making comparisons between generations and discusses how community involvement in America has been on the decline.  The reasons for this are numerous, so I am interested to see how he will connect everything.  

I do not think it is fair to say that the lack of community involvement from my generation (Generation X) is due to selfishness and a sense of entitlement.  Each generation is a product of previous generations and world events of their time.  In order for Putnam to make a clear argument, I would expect him to address this, along with the tremendous impact technology has.