How the Youth Generation Failed Bernie

2020 Presidential Candidate, Bernie Sanders has rallied and inspired the youth population across the nation. Some find it strange, for Bernie is not the warmest or fuzziest old man, and he certainly isn't the image of youth. He's angry, and rightfully so. He's fighting for the under-privlidged, over-worked, under-paid, and over looked. But, it's not …

The denial of working class citizens in politics

When people think of the “typical” democracy in our American society, they tend to think of the unrealistic and balanced society that genuinely cares for each and every person. The American political system is very obviously and essentially designed by and for the top percentage of wealthy Americans, and the authors of such a system designed …

Not-so-lonely bowling: civic engagement in the age of social media

Image source: American Leadership Forum "If the United States is to avoid becoming two nations, it must find ways to expand the post-9/11 resurgence of civic and social engagement beyond the ranks of affluent young white people."  So write Thomas Sander and Robert Putnam in their 2011 article "Still Bowling Alone? The Post-9/11 Split.” In …

The Decline of Social Trust in America

Trust is declining in America, especially in government, and even each other. Robert D. Putnam in Bowling Alone attributes the change in social trust as one of the many reasons for the lack of community and civic engagement. Social scientists have examined social trust over time. In an effort to measure trust over time, social …

American Loss of Leisure Time and “Grind” Culture

Figure 1 Over time, American youths have experienced a major loss of leisure time due to a minimal increase in wages, a major increase of inflation, and the rise of “grind” culture. Younger generations are forced to work harder and see less reward for it than previous generations had. Due to a large increase of …

Nice to Meet You vs Nice to See You

Mia Len Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash “Hi! Nice to meet you! Or, um, I mean, it is nice to talk to you!” Have you ever found yourself saying this phrase while “meeting” someone via social media? Do you consider it to be truly “meeting” someone if your only interaction with the person has been through a …

Declining Social Connectedness: Editorial

Civic Engagement in America has been on the downturn since the 1960s, in turn so has general social connectedness. Every person on every level, young or old, right or left, rich or poor, are participating in their communities less. People are voting less, they’re volunteering less, joining clubs less, also seeing friends less. So where …

Community Involvement in Different Culture

According to BCCCC, community involvement “is the power to bring positive, measurable change to both the communities in which you operate and to your business.” Examples include donations, volunteering, to building a house for refugees to participating in relief programs. Community involvement looks different for me when I am home, Nepal versus when I am …

Civic Engagement as Response to Crisis: Then and Now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3i3NC6hsgs CBS New York story about communities taking action amid the coronavirus pandemic The United States has struggled greatly with civic engagement over the years. While the 1960 Presidential Election saw a 62.8 percent voter turnout rate, this number slipped to 48.9 percent just 36 years later in 1996. But voting hasn't been the only …

COVID: The Anti-Human Virus

Douglass Rushkoff in his Our Tech and Our Markets Have an Anti-Human Agenda describes a growing world that has lost fundamental human values from an agenda constructed by competitiveness in our technologies, markets, and media. Rushkoff claims that this competitiveness distracts us from inherent human interaction, and ironically, the digital networks that should connect us …