Comments on: || The Poor State of Florida’s Civic Health. http://thepolity.net/wordpress/2010/02/25/the-poor-state-of-floridas-civic-health/ Toward more sustainable ways of connecting citizens and government Tue, 04 May 2010 12:37:53 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Christopher Gould http://thepolity.net/wordpress/2010/02/25/the-poor-state-of-floridas-civic-health/comment-page-1/#comment-51 Christopher Gould Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:57 +0000 http://thepolity.net/wordpress/?p=190#comment-51 This is an issue that I have been wrestling with for the better half of the 13 years I've lived in Florida. However, I've never able to put words to it until now. Dr.Ball spoke of a "highly mobile culture" in Florida. It is in my opinion that this, more than the other reason presented, is the cause for Florida's embarrassing civic health. In general, it seems that almost everyone I meet in Floria is from somewhere else. One of the first questions I ask someone in conversation is: "Where are you from?" The response I frequently receive is somewhere in the northeastern region of the United States or at least somewhere outside of Florida. It is very rare for me to meet someone who associates their home with somewhere in Florida. I am in college, so I understand that it is expected for me to meet people from other parts of the country but I've found that some of them actually live in Florida now, but they still associate their home with their birthplace. This may just be a cultural phenomena but I find it very revealing as it pertains to building social capital. For example, I only lived in Boston, Massachusetts until I was about 7 years old. However, I still tell people that “I’m from” Massachusetts and I still support all the teams from my hometown (Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins, etc). Because Florida attracts so may different people from some many different backgrounds, it causes individuals to flock towards those who share common interests generated from living or at least associating with a specific region and in turn, culture. I feel that it is accurate to say that people from the northeast (New York, Massachusetts, etc) are very different from people in the south (Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, etc). Florida's highly mobile culture, in my opinion, is extremely conducive to building "bonding social capital." In other words, people associating with others who share common backgrounds and interests with them. As Dr.Ball proposed, it is the duty of Florida's educational institutions to start producing citizens who are aware of the sad civic health of Florida and desire to help people understand that it takes the effort of everyone to build the society we all desire. This society will be produced through many different methods but "bridging social capital" will be the difference maker. "Bridging social capital" refers to the building of social networks between people with different interests and backgrounds. In my opinion, the production of this bridging capital will result in a dramatic increase in Florida's civic health because it will mean that people are actually associating with those outside of their typical social network. It is my hope that this will change Florida from “the place where my house is” to “my home.” Chris Gould Stetson University Political Science Major Sophomore This is an issue that I have been wrestling with for the better half of the 13 years I’ve lived in Florida. However, I’ve never able to put words to it until now. Dr.Ball spoke of a “highly mobile culture” in Florida. It is in my opinion that this, more than the other reason presented, is the cause for Florida’s embarrassing civic health. In general, it seems that almost everyone I meet in Floria is from somewhere else. One of the first questions I ask someone in conversation is: “Where are you from?” The response I frequently receive is somewhere in the northeastern region of the United States or at least somewhere outside of Florida. It is very rare for me to meet someone who associates their home with somewhere in Florida. I am in college, so I understand that it is expected for me to meet people from other parts of the country but I’ve found that some of them actually live in Florida now, but they still associate their home with their birthplace. This may just be a cultural phenomena but I find it very revealing as it pertains to building social capital. For example, I only lived in Boston, Massachusetts until I was about 7 years old. However, I still tell people that “I’m from” Massachusetts and I still support all the teams from my hometown (Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins, etc).
Because Florida attracts so may different people from some many different backgrounds, it causes individuals to flock towards those who share common interests generated from living or at least associating with a specific region and in turn, culture. I feel that it is accurate to say that people from the northeast (New York, Massachusetts, etc) are very different from people in the south (Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, etc). Florida’s highly mobile culture, in my opinion, is extremely conducive to building “bonding social capital.” In other words, people associating with others who share common backgrounds and interests with them.
As Dr.Ball proposed, it is the duty of Florida’s educational institutions to start producing citizens who are aware of the sad civic health of Florida and desire to help people understand that it takes the effort of everyone to build the society we all desire. This society will be produced through many different methods but “bridging social capital” will be the difference maker. “Bridging social capital” refers to the building of social networks between people with different interests and backgrounds. In my opinion, the production of this bridging capital will result in a dramatic increase in Florida’s civic health because it will mean that people are actually associating with those outside of their typical social network. It is my hope that this will change Florida from “the place where my house is” to “my home.”

Chris Gould
Stetson University
Political Science Major
Sophomore

]]> By: Justin Westerman http://thepolity.net/wordpress/2010/02/25/the-poor-state-of-floridas-civic-health/comment-page-1/#comment-46 Justin Westerman Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:19:04 +0000 http://thepolity.net/wordpress/?p=190#comment-46 This case is of particular interest to me because I have lived in Florida since I was born. Growing up, I was involved in several non-profit organizations. The majority were sports, but we still did quite a bit of community service for various organizations. Upon entering high school, I joined the Civil Air Patrol, which is an official auxiliary of the Air Force. I was highly engaged with my community at various airfields, parks, and road clean-up projects. High school offered many a program geared towards actively involving students in the community. Of them, I was in Student Government Association, Marine Corps JROTC, and several sports. Needless to say, I probably had one of the highest levels of civic engagement both bridging and bonding. After high school, I noticed a sharp decline in my engagement. I took on a full-time job, averaged 15-18 credit hours per semester in college, and lived on a farm requiring much of my help. I took on a lot at the age of 18, but as I look back, I realize now I was missing something: my devotion to the community. I suppose it was partly due to my full schedule, but it is partly due to the fact that I was no longer in any organization. This article has opened up my eyes because previously, I would have disagreed with Florida being on the low-end of civic engagement. However, looking at the past few years, I can honestly say that among the people I have been associating with, none of us volunteer. Lately, I noticed my friends who have graduated or received their masters are more willing with volunteer their time than someone without a college degree. As it seems, college life offers a myriad of student involvement programs geared towards bringing the community together. Those that join these programs seem to carry on with them upon graduation. Overall, my Civic Engagement class with Dr. Ball has definitely enlightened me to find interest groups and NPOs that I would be willing to donate my time to in the very near future. This case is of particular interest to me because I have lived in Florida since I was born. Growing up, I was involved in several non-profit organizations. The majority were sports, but we still did quite a bit of community service for various organizations. Upon entering high school, I joined the Civil Air Patrol, which is an official auxiliary of the Air Force. I was highly engaged with my community at various airfields, parks, and road clean-up projects. High school offered many a program geared towards actively involving students in the community. Of them, I was in Student Government Association, Marine Corps JROTC, and several sports. Needless to say, I probably had one of the highest levels of civic engagement both bridging and bonding.

After high school, I noticed a sharp decline in my engagement. I took on a full-time job, averaged 15-18 credit hours per semester in college, and lived on a farm requiring much of my help. I took on a lot at the age of 18, but as I look back, I realize now I was missing something: my devotion to the community. I suppose it was partly due to my full schedule, but it is partly due to the fact that I was no longer in any organization.

This article has opened up my eyes because previously, I would have disagreed with Florida being on the low-end of civic engagement. However, looking at the past few years, I can honestly say that among the people I have been associating with, none of us volunteer. Lately, I noticed my friends who have graduated or received their masters are more willing with volunteer their time than someone without a college degree. As it seems, college life offers a myriad of student involvement programs geared towards bringing the community together. Those that join these programs seem to carry on with them upon graduation. Overall, my Civic Engagement class with Dr. Ball has definitely enlightened me to find interest groups and NPOs that I would be willing to donate my time to in the very near future.

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