Robert Putnam, author of "Bowling Alone, " a best-selling book that looked at the decline of social and civic life in America, says bridge and bridge lunches were once part of the glue of communities.

WSJ: In Florida, a One-Woman Campaign for the Ladies' Bridge Lunch

Still others claim national service is needed because civic involvement in America is in long-term decline (as evidence, they cite falling voter turnout and Robert Putnam's argument that Americans are joining community organisations less than they used to).

ECONOMIST: Lexington

It is not only a series of popes but also a number of prominent secular thinkers who believe that the birth-control pill has been one of the major milestones in human history a diverse group that runs from public intellectuals of a previous generation like Walter Lippmann to such contemporary scholars as Francis Fukuyama and Robert Putnam.

WSJ: Has the Sexual Revolution Been Good for Women? Mary Eberstadt: No