January 6, 2005: Headlines: Social Capital: Speaking Out: Tsunami: Philadelphia Inquirer: Time is ripe for social capital: Responding to the tsunami devastation calls for a rapid expansion and deployment of one of America's most constructive, beloved programs to build social capital: the Peace Corps.
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January 6, 2005: Headlines: Social Capital: Speaking Out: Tsunami: Philadelphia Inquirer: Time is ripe for social capital: Responding to the tsunami devastation calls for a rapid expansion and deployment of one of America's most constructive, beloved programs to build social capital: the Peace Corps.
Time is ripe for social capital: Responding to the tsunami devastation calls for a rapid expansion and deployment of one of America's most constructive, beloved programs to build social capital: the Peace Corps.
Time is ripe for social capital: Responding to the tsunami devastation calls for a rapid expansion and deployment of one of America's most constructive, beloved programs to build social capital: the Peace Corps.
Time is ripe for social capital
By Jane Eisner
Philadelphia Inquirer
January 6, 2005
Cries for help are everywhere, pleading with us from the pages of newspapers and the devastating images beamed into our homes, from former presidents and Hollywood celebrities, in the flyers sent home from school and posted in local stores: Give. Give.
On my birthday, instead of giving me a gift, kind friends contributed to a tsunami relief fund. School children are collecting thousands; charitable organizations are gratefully stunned by the millions they have received.
Much about the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster stirs the soul to open the wallet - the utter, apolitical, unpredictable randomness of it all, the way it decimated entire families and communities without regard to national boundaries, religion, race, income, or age.
And the children. So many children dead, orphaned, lost.
If world-weary Colin Powell could be overwhelmed by what he has seen - and he has seen a lot - the rest of us can only imagine the extent of the pain and destruction.
The challenge now is to take this outpouring of charity and sympathy abroad and channel it into the kind of activities that build what the experts call "social capital" here at home: the formal and informal social networks that make civic life productive and sustainable. America suffered a sharp decline in social capital in the last four decades of the 20th century. Even the 2001 terrorist attacks did little to reverse many of the downward trends.
How can we maintain today's compassionate energy?
We can't if we let the stream of donations lessen as the horrifying images recede from public consciousness, and create nothing to replace the writing of checks and wringing of hands.
Sending money is the best way for citizens to respond to the tsunami crisis right now. But it doesn't necessarily build social capital. It's the difference between donating every now and then to the volunteer fire company, or volunteering twice a month. Not only is the volunteer more actively engaged in helping the community - by fighting an actual fire - but he or she also is developing and maintaining social bonds with neighbors that will surely be renewed in another capacity.
And while the Internet facilitates fund-raising, it doesn't necessarily facilitate civic engagement. To do that, one needs face-to-face contact, live gatherings, and the kind of personal touch that technology can only simulate.
But technology can enable, as we saw in the organizing efforts of this last presidential election. Whether it was conservatives mobilizing through talk radio, or liberals utilizing "meet-ups" online, technology gets people to do something, to connect.
"There are teaching moments and mobilization moments," notes Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project. "The Internet can ask more of people if there's more to do."
Government can also help build social capital. All the bake sales and fund-raisers in America cannot replicate what government can do - and the proof is in the essential work done by the trained military personnel now deployed in the Indian Ocean rim.
Here the next step is obvious: Responding to the tsunami devastation calls for a rapid expansion and deployment of one of America's most constructive, beloved programs to build social capital: the Peace Corps.
President Bush asked for the largest appropriation ever in his fiscal 2005 budget, promising to double the number of volunteers by 2007. Demand from countries is increasing - 20 more asked for Peace Corps programs last year - and applications from U.S. citizens rose last year by 10 percent.
And what does Congress do? Cut the President's request from $401 million to $317 million, keeping the number of volunteers well under 8,000, a far cry from the program's 1966 peak of more than 15,000.
Our leaders have to do a better job of funding the programs that build social capital, while citizens need to channel their compassionate energy in ways that go beyond the click of a mouse.
Speaking of the outpouring of support, Robert D. Putnam - whose landmark book, Bowling Alone, defined the trends in social capital - observed yesterday: "You have to embed these emotions in social structures if they are to be sustained. It can't be just a private communion between me at my computer and my good feelings. That doesn't have the staying power of doing something with other people."
This is a chance to channel America's notable compassion into concrete, sustainable social capital that knits us together at home and helps those who suffered when the roaring waves swept away their lives.
When this story was posted in January 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
| Peace Corps issues appeal to Thailand RPCVs Peace Corps is currently assessing the situation in Thailand, anticipates a need for volunteers and is making an appeal to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps. Also read this message and this message from RPCVs in Thailand. All PCVs serving in Thailand are safe. Latest: Sri Lanka RPCVs, click here for info. |
| The World's Broken Promise to our Children Former Director Carol Bellamy, now head of Unicef, says that the appalling conditions endured today by half the world's children speak to a broken promise. Too many governments are doing worse than neglecting children -- they are making deliberate, informed choices that hurt children. Read her op-ed and Unicef's report on the State of the World's Children 2005. |
| Our debt to Bill Moyers Former Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia." |
| Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors. |
| The Birth of the Peace Corps UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn. |
| Charges possible in 1976 PCV slaying Congressman Norm Dicks has asked the U.S. attorney in Seattle to consider pursuing charges against Dennis Priven, the man accused of killing Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Gardner on the South Pacific island of Tonga 28 years ago. Background on this story here and here. |
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Story Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Social Capital; Speaking Out; Tsunami
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