It might be even much worse if the algorithms are allowed to continue unabated and people do less and less civic-minded things, in person. I think part of the thesis of “Bowling for Columbine” is that starting some time ago, lots and lots of people doing things within their community as groups, in-person has had a steep drop-off.
I think I remember Masons talking about how boomers were almost missing from many of their lodges. Not sure of the reason for that, but due to things like Dan Brown, there was an uptick among Gen X joining up. I still think it’s probably way down for community groups of all kinds, generation after generation.
At least boomers are the ones still showing up to many in-person things. I don’t know what the civic engagement is for Gen X and younger…also, the boomers had a lot of fantastic ideas, some of the first to really go mainstream was with their generation. I think many of them were some of the first to be socialized in the broader sense, too. It’s just that Ronnie Raygunism came along and started building things like Faux and hate radio to capture that demo in particular…but I’m not fooled by the common trope of the boomer stereotype we keep seeing and blaming it all on them. I think that’s overlooking a lot by using a convenient scapegoat, especially now that most of the Silent Generation is disappearing, and nearly all (?) of the Greatest Generation is gone.
This is why I believe that building up community spaces is truly the way forward.
Mutual aid is the foundation of society, but we Americans have let that part of our culture deteriorate and instead promoted the “self-made individual” as the heroic ideal.
Although it doesn’t seem vital, promoting pro-social spaces is critical to getting people to engage with their community and expand the “tribe” to include more degrees of separation.
I’ve often wondered about the physical spaces of churches - not the mega-churches, I’m talking about the ones that mostly seem to be sitting empty, as xtianity is dwindling in this country.
I wonder about some kind of mass movement that could be turned to using those spaces for more and more civic and secular activities that are not affiliated with the church (but maybe find some way to offset the costs of the church - pay some nominal rental fee, etc) set up as a neutral meeting ground.
Things like maker spaces, meetups of all kinds (think meetup.com), game nights, etc. Ideally, every day/night of the week not already reserved for something in the church.
It might be even much worse if the algorithms are allowed to continue unabated and people do less and less civic-minded things, in person. I think part of the thesis of “Bowling for Columbine” is that starting some time ago, lots and lots of people doing things within their community as groups, in-person has had a steep drop-off.
I think I remember Masons talking about how boomers were almost missing from many of their lodges. Not sure of the reason for that, but due to things like Dan Brown, there was an uptick among Gen X joining up. I still think it’s probably way down for community groups of all kinds, generation after generation.
At least boomers are the ones still showing up to many in-person things. I don’t know what the civic engagement is for Gen X and younger…also, the boomers had a lot of fantastic ideas, some of the first to really go mainstream was with their generation. I think many of them were some of the first to be socialized in the broader sense, too. It’s just that Ronnie Raygunism came along and started building things like Faux and hate radio to capture that demo in particular…but I’m not fooled by the common trope of the boomer stereotype we keep seeing and blaming it all on them. I think that’s overlooking a lot by using a convenient scapegoat, especially now that most of the Silent Generation is disappearing, and nearly all (?) of the Greatest Generation is gone.
This is why I believe that building up community spaces is truly the way forward.
Mutual aid is the foundation of society, but we Americans have let that part of our culture deteriorate and instead promoted the “self-made individual” as the heroic ideal.
Although it doesn’t seem vital, promoting pro-social spaces is critical to getting people to engage with their community and expand the “tribe” to include more degrees of separation.
I’ve often wondered about the physical spaces of churches - not the mega-churches, I’m talking about the ones that mostly seem to be sitting empty, as xtianity is dwindling in this country.
I wonder about some kind of mass movement that could be turned to using those spaces for more and more civic and secular activities that are not affiliated with the church (but maybe find some way to offset the costs of the church - pay some nominal rental fee, etc) set up as a neutral meeting ground.
Things like maker spaces, meetups of all kinds (think meetup.com), game nights, etc. Ideally, every day/night of the week not already reserved for something in the church.
Reagan was a product of the newly established Southern Strategy, which has turned out to be very successful in its goals.