A Political Scientist Renews His Alarm at the Erosion of Community Ties: Harvard sociologist Robert Putnam decries the rise of “bowling alone” (the title of his new book) and other signs of the lack of connectedness in modern American life:

“Henry Ward Beecher’s advice a century ago to ‘multiply

picnics’ is not entirely ridiculous today. We should do this,

ironically, not because it will be good for America — though

it will be — but because it will be good for us.” [New York Times]