Bruce Guy Chabot, 32°
1024 Foster Avenue, College Station, Texas 77840–2202
bruce.Chabot@tamu.edu

Chances are, you and other Masons have lamented the lack of Lodge attendance and the scarcity of new members. Perhaps, you wondered about the cause for these declines and what could be done about them. The answers have arrived.

Folks used to go out and socialize, join clubs and fraternal societies, and even gather with friends to participate in common interests like bowling. Nowadays, people aren't joining leagues or getting together as much, so if you want to go out and have some fun, you might find yourself bowling alone. That is the premise of a new book by Robert D. Putnam. Titled Bowling Alone (Simon and Schuster, 2000; hardcover $26.00), this book discusses the trends whereby Americans no longer unite in groups and join organizations like Masonic Lodges. Bowling Alone is of interest to the Masonic Fraternity because it explains the reasons behind this trend and suggests ways to reverse it.

Putnam, a sociologist at Harvard, has done exhaustive research, and his discussion includes an astonishing variety of organizations, including, to name just a few: the Shrine, 4H, Audubon Society, Sierra Club, Salvation Army, American Federation of Labor, PTA, Red Cross, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Boy Scouts, Lions Clubs, Kiwanis, Rotary, Jaycees, and various fraternal societies.

In discussing these organizations, Putnam points out that all of them were founded during a period extending from the 1870s to the 1920s, a sort of golden age of public-spiritedness. By the end of this period, statistically one third of all American men belonged to some sort of fraternal organization! Putnam notes that involvement in service-oriented and civic organizations benefits not only society but also the individual who participates. Participation teaches important skills such as cooperation, public speaking, problem solving, and civilized debate. It also allows people to express practically their concern for others, thus building what he calls "social capital," i.e., interpersonal connections as an infrastructure for the improvement of both the individual and the community. It is this feeling of community which Putnam says has diminished with the decline in civic participation and "joining."

The author shows that, after the heyday of civic participation in the earliest decades of the twentieth century, involvement soared and peaked after World War II, probably because of a widely shared sense of victory and cohesiveness. However, after a plateau in the 1950s, participation began to decline in the sixties and seventies and has plummeted ever since. He gives specific figures and informative charts to support his arguments.

Putnam attributes the decrease in involvement to several factors, beginning with political disillusionment in the wake of the assassinations of JFK and others, and disaffection brought about by Vietnam War protests and the Nixon resignation. Other factors include increasing pressures over time and money, as well as urban sprawl and individual mobility. The greatest culprit of all, though, according to Putnam, is television. The incredible popularity of television watching coincides with disengagement from society, as well as lethargic lifestyles, and because it gives the very false illusion of interacting with others, TV deters people from really going out and getting involved in community projects, politics, church activities, volunteerism, and fraternal organizations.

Putnam, however, does not merely discuss the causes of the problem of decreased participation; he also offers solutions. His suggestions are well worth consideration by Masons. They include volunteering with youth organizations, becoming more family friendly, connecting with neighbors, participating in the arts, and using the Internet to promote civic aims. These are things which many Masonic Bodies do well and which probably all Masons, individually and collectively, could concentrate on more in order to build the "social capital" which will benefit the community as well as the Lodges and individuals involved. The author argues that such steps are vital because joining organizations like Freemasonry fosters interest in the public good, teaches values, aids in the development of good moral character, and helps people help each other.

Overall, Bowling Alone should assist all Masons in reversing the trend toward membership decline and fraternal apathy. Putnam goes into great depth in detailing actual events, always keeping in mind that what he is talking about are human beings. As a result, the reader remains connected and involved in the drama which lies behind the detailed information.

Bruce Guy Chabot is Junior Warden of Sul Ross Lodge No. 1300 in College Station, Texas. An ordained Catholic priest, he currently teaches English at Texas A&M University. He is also Chaplain of St. Alban's Lodge No. 1455 in College Station. He was raised in Independence Lodge No. 1337 in Corpus Christi and is also a member of the Scottish Rite Bodies of Houston as well as the York Rite and Al Amin Shrine Temple.