Skip to main content

Macher or Schmoozer?

I'm working my way slowly through the book Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam. In a nutshell, which has to be pretty big because it's a hefty book, it's about social behaviors and the decline of them in the US - things like voting and participating in the political process at all levels, and engaging with volunteer and community efforts.

Chapter six looks at Informal Social Connections. At paragraph two of the chapter he mentions the Yiddish words macher and schmoozer. That stopped me in my tracks for a moment. He continued to explain that fundamentally a macher is a doer, someone who makes things happen in the community. Whereas a schmoozer is a talker, a person with an active social life, someone who focuses on informal connections to others.

And while it is certainly nice to sit and talk with someone, at the end of the day that's all a schmoozer does. Alternatively, the macher will sit and visit with you and then either your roped into helping or the macher is going to move on to finish the project or work on the effort that has to be tackled.

Further, behaviors feed into other behaviors.
The macher does things like:
  • follow current events
  • attend church and club meetings
  • volunteer
  • give to charity
  • work on community projects
  • give blood
  • read the newspaper
  • give speeches
  • follow politics
  • frequent local meetings
And the schmoozer does things like:
  • give dinner parties
  • hang out with friends
  • play cards
  • frequent bars or night spots
  • hold barbecues
  • visit relatives
  • send greeting cards
These two groups can and do overlap, Putnam points out. However, fundamentally they are two different paradigms. There is further evidence that differences in education levels, home ownership, and gender, can be seen between the two groups. It's really quite interesting to read his analysis.

As I finished the bit of reading I did today I was left pondering how I want to see myself and hope that others will see me - as a macher or schmoozer. Am I someone who gets things done or just talks about getting it done?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cooperation isn't a dirty word

I started this slowly evolving blog after hearing Senator Diane Feinstein's inspiring words in the documentary Miss Representation . I find myself, now, even more so, propelled forward by that thought. We are indeed only here on this earth, here engaged with our communities for an instant in what is really an eternity. So our contribute while critical and vital is fleeting. It has been nearly 4 years since I started this blog, and as you can see, I haven't given it a great deal of attention. There is so much to do, so much need in the world, so much good to be done, so much inequality to be called out. How can I even find time to stop for a few minutes, string together a few well chosen words, and even take another minute to review those chosen words? Certainly not when all three kids need me NOW! (Of course they don't really but don't tell them that!) Times have certainly been tough these past three months since the world was rocked by the US election...
Post a Comment
Read more

Taking the time

Last night I went to a talk given by Dr. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg last night. She spoke about guilt, atonement, and intimacy. My takeaway from this evening, even as I am still unraveling what she laid out for us is as follows. Elul has been described as like a bird hovering over a nest - waiting, ready to arrive, not yet there, but at the same time present. From this point she moved to the relationship between G-d and Moshe. After all of Moshe's hard work to build, carefully, diligently, the Tent of Meeting (אוהל מועד), Moshe remains outside, as if hovering over the nest, waiting to enter, unable to enter. Calling to others - as G-d calls to Moshe - is our way of calling attention to the other with whom we want to speak. Saying a person's name indicates that we have a desire to speak to her and elevates the communication, adding impact and intimacy of the conversation. Interestingly when Israelis talk to each other there is always a great amount of time asking each other...
Post a Comment
Read more