Going It Alone
September 24, 2009
Walking alone through the wasteland...
As Robert Putnam noted in his seminal book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, the decline in person to person intellectual and social intercourse has had a dramatic effect on American society. It would appear to me that this decline has been exaggeratedly demonstrated in rural areas. The decrease in participatory numbers within American Legions, Moose and Masonic Lodges, and their manifold kindred organizations has an abrogating effect on small communities. Whether it be town team basketball, the Lions Club, chambers of commerce, or the odd softball tournament: we all suffer for their lack of ambitious partakers. What can increase shareholdership, or do you feel we are on a corrective path already?
September 24, 2009 at 6:31 am
I’ve always thought it would be cool to have an occasional gathering of thinkers to discuss the status quo in rural Kansas and what could/should (if anything) be done about it.
There are groups that gather for the purpose of economic development, but they always seem to go back to the same old discussions of “how do we get a big business to move here/get kids to move back from college.”
Need some outside the box discussion. Far outside.
September 25, 2009 at 1:14 am
Since you have nothing else going on (sarcasm), why don’t you kick-start such an organization? I would enjoy taking part and can think of some other pretty good candidates too. I almost think such a group should fly a little under the radar…at least at first. This might be the kind of team where vast numbers would be detrimental. How about calling it the Rural Coalition for Kansas Success (RCKS)? You could call it RoCKS (a la CHiPs).
September 27, 2009 at 12:58 am
I agree on small. And I like the idea of secret society… my opinions are public enough, I need to fly under the radar once in a while.
Let me keep thinking.
September 29, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Let me know what you come up with.