Watch it or die
A documentary on civic engagement is a must-watch
Robert Putnam spent decades proving what Baton Rouge residents feel but rarely name: when people stop joining things, communities don't just get quieter. They get sicker, poorer and more politically broken.
Join or Die, now streaming on Netflix, makes that case with urgency and clarity. The documentary traces Putnam's research showing that cities with high civic and social engagement don't just feel better—they perform better. Economies grow. Governments function. People on opposite sides of an issue find enough common ground to actually solve problems.
And it doesn't require a chamber luncheon. A running club, a pickleball ladder, a book group—informal gatherings around shared interests turn out to be the connective tissue democracy actually runs on.
The bottom line: For a parish fracturing into parochial cities, gated subdivisions and competing school systems, the film isn't abstract. It's a diagnosis—and an economic argument.
It leaves Netflix on April 17. You've got less than three weeks. Use them.
—JR Ball
