Our national myths often exaggerate the role of the individual heroes and understate the importance of collective effort.

What really matters from the point of view of social capital and civic engagement is not merely nominal membership, but active and involved membership.

Community connectedness is not just about warm fuzzy tales of civic triumph. In measurable and well-documented ways, social capital makes an enormous difference in our lives...Social capital makes us smarter, healthier, safer, richer, and better able to govern a just and stable democracy.

How well you do in life shouldn't depend on how well your parents did.

A society that relies on generalized reciprocity is more efficient than a distrustful society, for the same reason that money is more efficient than barter. Trust lubricates social life. Networks of civic engagement also facilitate coordination and communication and amplify information about the trustworthiness of other individuals.

Young Americans are dropping out of religion at an alarming rate of five to six times the historic rate.

Busy people tend to forgo the one activity - TV watching _ that is most lethal to community involvement