Community decline operates invisibly through the absence of familiar practices

Evidence

The ebbing of community over the last several decades has been silent and deceptive. We notice its effects in the strained interstices of our private lives and in the degradation of our public life, but the most serious consequences are reminiscent of the old parlor puzzle: “What’s missing from this picture?” Weakened social capital is manifest in the things that have vanished almost unnoticed—neighborhood parties and get-togethers with friends, the unreflective kindness of strangers, the shared pursuit of the public good rather than a solitary quest for private goods. Naming this problem is an essential first step toward confronting it, just as labeling “the environment” allowed Americans to hear the silent spring and naming what Betty Friedan called “the problem that has no name” enabled women to articulate what was wrong with their lives. — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 1451

Categorization

• XREF: Mirrors Rachel Carson’s and Betty Friedan’s framing of naming as a precondition for social action; connects to how every social problem needs a label before it can mobilize reform. — connects to: Fragmented community development framing deepens alienation and enable divisive control — Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 457; Communication overload and shallow participation mask genuine community uprooting — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 569; Directory undercounting and un-purged lists mask grassroots environmental decline — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 2058
• SEED: Essay angle: what problems in today’s world suffer from being ‘what’s missing from this picture’ absences rather than presences—things whose loss we cannot perceive because they are gone.

Broader Connections

• Communication overload and shallow participation mask genuine community uprooting #corroborates (0.85) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 569
• Fragmented community development framing deepens alienation and enable divisive control #exemplifies (0.75) — Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 457