Why can't we all just get along?

Bob Putnam shows how we have become increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbors, and our democratic structures-- and how we may reconnect. He warns that our stock of social capital - the very fabric of our connections with each other, has plummeted, impoverishing our lives and communities. And his latest research shows ethnic diversity reduces social solidarity, trust and happiness.

So why is he so optimistic we can all get along?

Because he sees a country where individuals and groups are engaged in unusual forms of social activism and civic renewal. These are people who are renewing their communities and investing in new forms of “social capital.”

It has to do with the creativity, diversity and new ideas of immigrants. It has to do with pervasive media connecting people and their communities of interest. And it has to do with democracy in a diverse society.

Society needs links to people unlike ourselves.

Putnam's Better Together site: http://www.bettertogether.org/about.htm