Every year in the spring, young men and women graduate from high school. From there, they pursue further studies in college or technical schools, pursue careers in the military, or pursue employment in the community. Some also start their families at this time (their most important job of their life!). All of these pursuits are vital to our communities, our state, and our country. Every year at graduation ceremonies, the young adults are told about their responsibilities as graduates. They are told that their freedom in this country to pursue their field of choice is a privilege, not a right. They are told that they are no longer passive participants in our society. They are now citizens. And the main responsibility of citizens is to get involved and care for others.
Robert Putnam in his book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community emphasizes the term “social capital” to refer to involvement in our community.1 Initially discussed by a school supervisor (L.J. Hanifan) in 1916, social capital refers to “those tangible substances [that] count for most in the daily lives of people: namely good will, fellowship, sympathy, and social intercourse among individuals and families.” Communities with social capital “may bear a social potentiality sufficient to the substantial improvement of living conditions in the whole community. The community as a whole will benefit by the cooperation of all its parts, while the individual will find in his association the advantages of the help, the sympathy, and the fellowship of his neighbors.”
A careful reading of the above quote notes the following:
- Social capital means individuals must get involved in their community.
- It is not sufficient to do things in a void. We must get involved with and for our fellow citizens.
- Involvement in our community helps the community and helps the individuals. This is a classic win-win situation where the community is a winner and the citizens are winners.
- Citizens are active participants in the community.
- The benefits to the community from individual actions are often greater than the individual actions themselves. In other words, the benefits to a community from positive interactions can be greater than the sum of its parts.
- Involvement leads to interaction and subsequent understanding of the issues affecting the lives of our fellow citizens. Our individual actions (selfish or selfless) affect others in our community. With involvement, we learn to appreciate those reactions to our actions and learn to cooperate and improve our community for the betterment of all.
Robert Putnam further notes that social capital –
- “allows citizens to resolve collective problems more easily”
- “greases the wheels that allow communities to advance smoothly”
- widens “our awareness of the many ways in which our fates are linked”
- “improves individuals lives through psychological and biological processes”
Putnam’s book title, Bowling Alone, is a provocative one. A common source of interaction in the community in the post-WWII era was bowling. Folks were often in leagues, interacting with friends and making new friends. One such interaction noted in his book is the chance encounter that led to an individual donating a kidney to previously complete stranger. His book documents the effects of less social engagement (hence the title “bowling alone”) and the potential deterioration of our social fabric.
If social capital is so good and can help our community, why can’t we just work together and make it happen? Because it requires involvement, sustained involvement. We must get involved and stay involved in many ways. Our involvement will help our community, our fellow citizens and ourselves. Perhaps it’s too idealistic to think that we can all make a difference, but it makes perfect sense. We are the only ones that can make a difference.
Too often we think that our elected officials will make the difference. We elect people to help establish policy. Policies only matter if the citizens are actively involved, working to improve their community, putting those policies into effect or working to modify them as appropriate. Let’s not forget that our elected officials don’t do the work of improving our community. We do. They are important as policy makers, but citizens make the difference. We are the social capital in that we exhibit the good will, friendship, sympathy and social interactions to move things forward.
How can we get involved to make a difference? The following list is just a partial list of suggestions –
- Study the issues, learn about the candidates and vote.
- Join a civic organization and participate.
- Participate in the activities at your child’s school.
- Get involved in your church and its activities.
- Connect with your co-workers.
- Join or start a neighborhood association.
- Watch less TV and read more.
Involvement is the key to improving our lives and the life of our community. Graduation is just another step in our journey to becoming engaged citizens. Whenever we get involved, we increase the social capital and are a part of tangible improvement.
- Putnam RD. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Simon and Schuster, 541 pp. 2001. (revised edition issued 2020)