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.
Gladwell's "thin slices" just sounds like intuition to me -- making judgments based on patterns sensed when they are still so subtle you can't define them, or accessing info stored so deep in your unconscious that you aren't consciously aware of them, but your brain dredges it up and compares to the subject one is contemplating....
ReplyDeleteSandy
Okay, I am having a senior moment...posted this comment to the wrong blog, sorry!
ReplyDeleteSandy
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that we seem to accept the notion that being sociable is the norm to which we should all aspire. Have you ever read the book "A Party of One" by Anneli Rufus? It addresses the question of introverts and how they are stigmatized. Granted, a degree of sociability is necessary for survival, but to use it as the yardstick for success is, to me, questionable (maybe because I'm an introvert...)
Sandy
Kelly, I think I got the comment problem fiqured out thanks to reading your thread .
ReplyDeleteI question whether the "younger generation" is really less involved in community. I think the impression that gen x spends hours by themselves sitting in front of the computer or interacting only through technology has to be questioned. The computer revolution has cause so much change that we are still processing it. It is easy to say people are less community minded but what about social media-a socializing tool that many older folks do not get at all. My college age kids are so much more in touch with their high school friends because of facebook. So I too would question that assumption.