We are the World?...

I was so looking forward to my talk with Dr. Robert Putnam and he did not disappoint. I am not going to lie to you: it tickled me that he was familiar with the program, since I am so familiar with his work.

As I mentioned in a previous post, my old boss at ABC News' Nightline was a major Putnam fan. His study of, and concern for, the decline of civic engagement was a core concern in our old office, not as a matter of public advocacy, I hasten to add, but as a matter of our core culture. My boss was obsessed with team work, with collegiality, with submerging the individual ego to the best interests of the group. Everybody was expected to pull together for the sake of that night's show -- to put aside whatever else you were doing if somebody needed help. And the cool thing was that when it was your turn, everybody (well, almost everybody) would do the same for you. Of course we had our "issues," but that was one aspect of the place I very much hold onto and hope to instill in my own troops (hint: food helps).

So, imagine my surprise when I read a study by Putnam suggesting that in more diverse environments people actually are willing to do less for each other and for the community. They are willing to extend themselves less, they trust people less (even members of their own group!).

Why might that be? Granted, there might not be reason to believe they should do more, but why less?

I was so intrigued by the thesis that I wanted to build as much of the program around it as possible. After a FAST hustle on the part of our booking team (Thanks Addie and Jamila!) we were able to speak with the presidents of two universities -- Tennessee State and the University of Floria. Think about it...two university presidents in the middle of August? Two gold stars.

I am intrigued to know what you think of Putnam's thesis and whether you think you've seen this in your own communities.

One listener, Carolyn, already wrote to tell us how much she misses being in a diverse environment, and that she, for one, is a person who values diversity (you'll hear more on her thoughts in Friday's BackTalk segment). I, for one, do not think of those as contradictory pieces of information. I bet there are many people who also value diversity, but find achieving it in their own lives much tougher going than they ever expected. I think I'd like to do more on this topic...

Until then...I'm gone for a couple of days attending to some family business. I am very sure you will enjoy my substitute host, Callie Crossley (and no, it's not a requirement that all of my subs have names that begin with two C's. But it is strange, isn't it?) Callie is an old friend, a fine journalist and a former colleague of mine at ABC News, although we never worked on the same show together. But if we did I am quite sure we would have played together very nicely.

Have a great weekend and we'll talk Monday...

Michel Martin

9:01 PM ET | 08-15-2007 | permalink

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9:01 PM ET | 08-15-2007 | permalink