What's Happening?

[Eamonn]

Membership in all the sections of the BSA is on the Delcine.

Attendance at church services is down.

Attendance at baseball games is down.

It seems that people are not going to the movies.

Sales of alcoholic beverages are up, but alcohol sales in bars and restaurants are down.

We used to in our small town have almost 400 kids signed up for soccer (From age 5 -13) I hear that they only had 160 sign up for the spring.

Local softball is also hurting.

This year only three seniors played in the high school band.

I notice that when I drive past the local parks they are empty, no little kids playing on the swings or in the sand.

The country club doesn't seem able to recruit new members.

I don't play, but I'm told that attendance at bingo is not what it used to be.

People don't seem to want to join the Rotary, Elks, VFW or the American Legion.

So where is everyone?

Eamonn.

[C-BOLT]

They are indoors, either too scared to go outside because of fear of predators, or they are playing video games, watching TV, etc.

 

I do a bit of all of that, well except the band, I don't think you'd want me in any band after me attempting to bugle one summercamp.

[scoutldr]

Could be finances. Price of gas here is $2.79 - $3.05 per gallon (and I know that's relatively low compared to other areas). It costs my wife and I $10 a day just to get to work and back, not to mention other trips around town.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

[John-in-KC]

Price of gas has hit me as well. I'm a year away from sending the Eagle to college. Even in-state is $16K a year total package.

 

It may also be that Gens X-Y-Z aren't as willing to give of time energy and effort for the sake of their kids as even we Boomers were... and we had shortfalls relative to our parents.

[prairie]

We have a generation of kids whose parrents didn't have freedom to play in their neighborhoods and are terrified something might happen to their childern. So all "play" is orginized. Unfortunatly Scouting looks like yet another controled enviroment with not much to offer a kid who has been on airplanes and fancy vacations, multipule sports teams and had their very own taxi service to all their activites.

Scouting provided a chance for boys who never got to go anywhere or do much but work, where it fits now I don't know.

[packsaddle]

I can't explain all the factors contributing to it but there seems to be less of a sense of community now than in the recent past. It is almost as if we view each other as resources to exploit rather than as opportunities to enrich each other's lives. I have noticed in my travels that this also seems uniquely American. But I can't explain it.

[BrentAllen]

I must live in a different world. Here, almost all Scout units are increasing in membership. Upward Basketball is growing pretty dramatically. When my wife broke her knee, people came out of the woodwork to bring meals. The same happens when other neighbors are injured or have surgeries. Our neighborhood 4th of July parade is Small Town America, right here in the city. I guess I should just count my lucky stars.

[gwd-scouter]

BrentAllen, lovely town Dunwoody. My mother lives there and we've visited during the July 4th parade. Very cool thing and it does give that small town feel to a very populated area.

 

My take on the decline of numbers in community organizations is the overwhelming number of single parent families, at least in our town. It is hard for a single parent to work all day and take care of their children, and then have to cart them off to various evening activities. They generally are less financially able to pay for the activities as well. Speaking merely from my Scouting experience, the single parents almost never volunteer to do anything with the Scouts, many times because they have younger children at home and don't have the time.

 

On the other hand, I have always wondered why there seems to be a decline in parents, especially Dads, volunteering for Scouts with their sons. It seems that lots of parents are willing to give their time during Cub Scouts, but once their son reaches Boy Scouts, they're gone. Maybe it's just our Troop, but we have only one father that has stepped up to help out.

[Stosh]

I guess I'll take a stab at it.

 

My point of view is:

 

No man is an island. In order for anyone to function in this world, they are in need of some sort of support group(s). Be it family, friends, school, organizations, or whatever. The basic core where one learns these dynamics of community is family. For the most part, this "support group" family doesn't exist anymore. Every couple standing at the altar/before the Justice of the Peace, has better odds flipping a coin of being together in 5 years than the odds of the current divorce rate.

 

With that being said, where does community and sense of belonging come from? Where are the support groups? Who's there for them? When these things are weak or non-existant, individuals cope by not making, or getting involved in what is preceived as unsupportive groups. Why do you think gangs are so popular?

 

Ever hear of a SM saying, if the parents would be more supportive?

 

All this is symptomatic of the decline in community of our culture. It has become progressively worse over the past 40 years when the ME generation revolted (successfully, I might add) against such things as marriage and family.

 

Both parents work and are exhausted when they come home to the "family". Their schedules are horrendous, with something going on from morning til night with each individual going their separate ways. When the schedule is clear, they do TV/Computer/XBox, kinds of individual activities rather than learning how to interact with other people.

 

Well, once the mortar is gone, what holds the bricks together?

 

Stosh

[packsaddle]

jblake47, I tend to agree. Brent, you are indeed lucky and I hope you can continue to have that wonderful community.

I can't put all the blame on iPods and Xboxes. Those could just as well be symptoms rather than causes. I see the loss of connectedness partly as a result of our mobility. We think nothing of going for a better position and moving across the country. Our children are groomed for 'upward mobility' and those of us with the resources pay big bucks to make sure OUR children can outcompete others. And, Brent, I suspect this last item goes on in your community as well. When the idea of success through competition becomes the primary idea that structures the community, then individuals tend to become, well, more individualistic. Viola!

I can't pass judgement on any of this because I'm not certain if it's correct or if it's good or bad. But I do see it as part of a predictable outcome of application of the marketplace to social interactions. It is a great experiment that we initiated long ago and there is no control for comparison. And the outome is uncertain...but it certainly will be interesting.

[Beavah]

Yah, I think part of it is you're livin' in the "economically & demographically challenged" midwest, eh? Fewer kids as a percentage of the total population. Budgets gettin' stretched in economic down-times. People movin' out of area.

 

Then there's some bigger things goin' on. Both parents workin', or only one parent. That really curtails volunteer time, and time to be "present" to your neighbors, your church, etc. Makes us more willing to write the big $ check for an "organized" program than to take the time to contribute to our own program as a volunteer coach or such. Leaves us no times for hobbies or entertainin'.

 

Mobility is a big thing, eh? Lots of young families are livin' in towns far away from their parents and other relatives. They don't have "deep roots" in their community. And the notion of yeh find a company and career and stay with it for life is dead. Changin' jobs and locations is the way of things. So there's not as much benefit to buildin' deep connections to the community when you see yourself movin' on in 3-5 years. Buildin' those connections takes time and effort.

 

Fear. Fear of predators, fear of lawsuits, fear of terrorists, fear of other people period. Fear is as high as it's ever been. Keeps the elderly indoors rather than out in the community. Keeps kids under adults' thumbs 24/7. Teaches everyone that the community is somethin' to be afraid of, not somethin' to enjoy and participate in. Can't volunteer, if I make a mistake, I can be sued, insurance might not cover....

 

Tech. Da technology makes impersonal contacts easy, on our personal schedule. No need to get a bunch of scouters from our district together for a barbeque or cup of coffee, we can talk with hundreds of dedicated scouters on-line. No need to even chitchat with the guy in front of us in the espresso line when we've got our cell. Same with kids, eh? No need to ride down the block and make friends with dat sorta odd kid Joey, when your best friend and some other cool dudes are on MySpace, IM, and Doom.

 

Shoutin. Public discourse is all Red vs. Blue, Christian vs. atheist, us vs. them. The trend is to see others as "wrong" or "bad" rather than "friends and neighbors with different viewpoints." So if everyone else is "wrong" or "bad", then we have to seek out those few "good" people out there who think like us. Again, that pushes people into small and on-line groups, rather than makin' 'em generous participants in the bigger community. 'specially if they're mobile, and fearful, and don't have much time.

 

Most of these changes are permanent, eh? America is goin' to stay more mobile. Communications technology isn't goin' away, nor are two-income or single-parent families. Some of these things, like fear & shoutin', we can each change in small ways, at least for those around us.

 

But all our institutions, includin' Scouting, have to cope with this different environment. Those that don't, well, I guess they become extinct.

 

Beavah

 

 

 

 

 

[gwd-scouter]

Regarding how parents are afraid to let their children loose to play unattended: our local paper ran an editorial today in Sunday's paper - "When it comes to your child, an assumption is the wrong choice."

 

The story is about a few days ago when a 7 year old went outside from his house and into the woods behind his house in search of his dog. Mom, missing him for barely 15 minutes and when he did not respond to her calls, called on her family, neighbors and law enforcement to look for her son.

 

You see, she is a victim's aid professional and has seen first hand what can happen to children when they are victimized.

 

The newspaper applauded her reaction to her son being missing for 15 minutes, stating "it's a sad commentary on our society when you cannot be 100 percent sure that your little boy isn't just a few yards away from the front door and quite safe." --which, in fact, he was - they found him within a half and hour from her first call to police.

 

Goes on to say, "most of the time, that would be a correct assumption, but the reality in such an assumption could be the difference between a happy ending, such as (7 year old's name) and yet another sad tale of a child being kidnapped or assaulted, or worse.

 

Paper then states, "this isn't an attempt to scare you, it's an attempt to force you to look at the reality of today's world."

 

Is this really our world today? If so, I guess it's responsible journalism. If not, tabloid press at it's best.

 

[Hunt]

I don't know about other places, but I notice that my kids have much more homework than I ever did--it has a real impact on the amount of time they have for other activities. Plus, kids around here (including mine) tend to have a lot of scheduled activities, like music lessons. I think you can add that to the factors that others have mentioned, like more electronic entertainment at home and a reluctance to allow kids much freedome of movement.

[OldGreyEagle]

I think to a large degree much of what goes on today, has always gone on, we just didn't know about it. 50-25 years ago we wouldnt have known about the Virginia Tech shootings until the nightly news or the next days newspaper. Now we can visit Facebook and MySpace pages and virtually "be" with the students while the events unfolds. The D-Day invasion was carried out with news correspondents but they had little means to convey the story back home. Today we live telecasts from battle fields while the shooting is going on.

 

Children were abducted 50 years ago, but as a nation we didnt know about each one. They didnt become the national stories that "caught on videotape" events now become. We didn't have Amber Alerts back then, but they were as needed back then as they are today, they just didnt exist, but the reasons for them did. We talk about how much more violent our society is today, how much more violent our youth are and how dangerous our schools have become yet in 1957 when "Westside Story" debuted, it was touted as being a breakthrough in that it was telling the "real story" of teenage angst, how many youth die in the story? That was 50 years ago. I think people dont behave that much differently as 50 years ago, I think our knowledge of what goes on is at a higher level and that is the difference.

 

Now, the drop in volunteerism? Do we ask people for help? Do we let our children know its ok to help others? What are we teaching them? The local school system has a high graduation requirement of 100 service hours from the time the youth leave 8th grade until graduation. 100 hours spent in the service of others. They are always being sued by parents who say the school cant force my child to learn the benefits of service. Those students do graduate but cant attend the graduation ceremony.(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

[mtm25653]

In 2000, Robert Putnam wrote a book called "Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community".

 

From the Amazon.com editorial review:

In a nutshell, he argued that civil society was breaking down as Americans became more disconnected from their families, neighbors, communities, and the republic itself. The organizations that gave life to democracy were fraying. Bowling became his driving metaphor. Years ago, he wrote, thousands of people belonged to bowling leagues. Today, however, they're more likely to bowl alone:

 

"Television, two-career families, suburban sprawl, generational changes in values--these and other changes in American society have meant that fewer and fewer of us find that the League of Women Voters, or the United Way, or the Shriners, or the monthly bridge club, or even a Sunday picnic with friends fits the way we have come to live. Our growing social-capital deficit threatens educational performance, safe neighborhoods, equitable tax collection, democratic responsiveness, everyday honesty, and even our health and happiness."

 

The conclusions reached in the book Bowling Alone rest on a mountain of data gathered by Putnam and a team of researchers since his original essay appeared. Its breadth of information is astounding--yes, he really has statistics showing people are less likely to take Sunday picnics nowadays. Dozens of charts and graphs track everything from trends in PTA participation to the number of times Americans say they give "the finger" to other drivers each year. If nothing else, Bowling Alone is a fascinating collection of factoids. Yet it does seem to provide an explanation for why "we tell pollsters that we wish we lived in a more civil, more trustworthy, more collectively caring community." What's more, writes Putnam, "Americans are right that the bonds of our communities have withered, and we are right to fear that this transformation has very real costs." Putnam takes a stab at suggesting how things might change, but the book's real strength is in its diagnosis rather than its proposed solutions. Bowling Alone won't make Putnam any less controversial, but it may come to be known as a path-breaking work of scholarship, one whose influence has a long reach into the 21st century. --John J. Miller

 

 

The author has a newer book, "Better Together: The Book", with Lewis Feldstein. The website http://www.bettertogether.org/150ways.htm lists 150 ways to build social capital - number 21 is "Get involved with Brownies or Cub/Boy/Girl Scouts", but I bet most of us on this list do a lot of the other activities as well. Unfortunately, most people don't do any of them.