USR is hosting a screening of the acclaimed civic documentary “Join or Die,” Sunday, October 15, 2023 at 4:30 PM in Anderson. The event is free and open to the public, and will be followed by pizza and discussion.
Based on the work of Harvard professor Robert D. Putnam, the film charts America’s civic unraveling over the past half century and connects it to the current political crisis. It does more than document the problems–it points to a path forward.
Putnam is America’s preeminent political scientist – and one of the most widely read and cited social scientists living today. Putnam’s groundbreaking book, “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Society,” rocketed him to fame in the late 1990s and earned him the moniker “the poet laureate of civil society.” In 2012, Putnam was awarded the National Humanities Medal, the nation’s highest honor for contributions to the humanities.
Directed and produced by Pete and Rebecca Davis, “Join or Die,” documents the story of America’s civic unraveling through the work of Putnam, whose research demonstrates how America’s decades-long decline in community connections could hold the answers to our democracy’s present crisis.
Filled with interviews and stories from Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and others, as well as a look at inspiring groups building community in neighborhoods across the country, “Join or Die” explores three urgent civic questions: What makes democracy work? Why is American democracy in crisis? And, most importantly: What can we do about it?
Pete Davis is a writer and civic advocate – and a former student of Putnam’s. He is the author of “Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing.” He is the co-founder of the Democracy Policy Network, a policy organization focused on raising up ideas that deepen democracy.
Rebecca Davis is a director and producer based in New York City. She was a senior producer with NBC News for a decade, where her work focused on social movements, environment and economic justice, and community innovators. She has produced for HBO, VICE, and A&E, and was the supervising producer for Season 2 of Vox’s hit Netflix show, Explained.
