Word: civics
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...population of 550,000, most of the city's residents have nothing to do with the business of campaigns and elections, but there are still more than enough Hill staffers, ambitious young administration officials, lobbyists, think-tank workers and political reporters living here because of their devotion to civic life that you'd expect turnout to be heavy. The local alternative weekly even wrote up a "Hill Staffer's Guide" for the local election. Yet the national politicos seem to have tuned it out. ABC's super-insidery blog The Note relegated the D.C. results to its second page...
...authors try to discuss “the average American,” the book’s principles are directed towards political and business elite, at times sounding like a manual for money-making. The last part of the book describes the societal changes that have taken American civic society from one that bowled alone to one that finds community by supporting candidates on thefacebook.com. The authors clog the text with numbers and names, quotations, and references to other sociological work. They question the pre-9/11 findings of Malkin Professor of Public Policy Robert Putnam and his famous...
Still, we find it alarming that a country that is so prosperous, free and secure shows such serious signs of weakness in its civic infrastructure, especially at a time when it most needs that strength. The growing polarization of its politics has made compromise and unity on crucial matters far more difficult. Indeed, people's trust in others has declined even as their voting has climbed, suggesting that they're using the ballot to protect personal interests rather than out of a sense of shared responsibility. Americans are keenly aware of the fissures in society. Our surveys find that...
...what's to be done? First, get a sharper picture of where we stand. The U.S. routinely collects minutely detailed information to gauge the vitality of its economy. This new index is the beginning of an effort to do the same for its civic life. With this data, we can begin to seriously debate and ultimately fashion robust policies to fix our communal machinery. Local groups can tap it to build awareness, and national service programs, such as AmeriCorps, can use it to hone recruiting. With just a little focus and effort, our civic health can change course...
...John Bridgeland, CEO of Civic Enterprises, and Robert Putnam, Malkin Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University. Both are on the advisory board of the National Conference on Citizenship...