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I recently read Robert Putnam’s book Bowling Alone. It’s a complex book full of statistics, but can be summed up with “our social capital was bad 20 years ago, and it’s now even worse.” Over 20 years ago, Putnam warned about American society’s trend toward social isolation - becoming much less connected to and interacting less with friends, neighbors, coworkers, religious groups, schools, activity groups, civic and political groups, and service clubs. Social capital is the benefit of one's social interactions and relationships - it’s the trust, goodwill, understanding, tolerance of differences, and the reciprocity that comes from connections and associations with others in our community. When we help a friend move, get the neighbor’s mail when they are away, volunteer at the school down the street, volunteer for a nonprofit or civic group, canvas for a local candidate, join a hiking club, take a music class, pray with others, or even go to a coworker’s barbecue, we are not just improving our own social wellbeing, we are rebuilding our community’s social capital. Every connection we make helps us grow in our support and understanding of others, and has the potential to spread civility and goodwill throughout society. #socialcapital #networking #volunteer #connections #communitywellbeing #civility #robertputnam
