Sander, T.H. and Putnam, R.D. (2010) ‘Still Bowling Alone? The Post-9/11 Split’, Journal of Democracy, Vol.21 (1), 9-16.

Sander, T.H. and Putnam, R.D. (2010) ‘Still Bowling Alone? The Post-9/11 Split’, Journal of Democracy, Vol.21 (1), 9-16.

• Societies, and esp. democratic societies cannot function w/o social capital, or the substances of civil society (9).
• In his book 'Bowling Alone", Dr. Putnam notes that Americans today are less engaged civically and socially in their communities than those of previous generations. This corresponds to lower voter turn-out and less trust (10).
• Children who were college-age or younger during the 9/11 attacks are significantly more likely than their parents to be civically engaged, political active, and involved in their community (11).
• These youth may eventually revive America's civic culture, as they replace individualized and atomized older voters.
• However, the increase of youth engagement is very limited within White communities to the middle-class and above. If anything, lower class white youth are becoming less political involved and less engaged w/ their community than previous generations, including their parents (13).
• If America does not want to divide into two nations, one political engaged and economically well-off and the other poor and atomized, it needs to increase social mobility so that these youth once again have the confidence to succeed and becoming involved in communities which benefit them (14).