Review: Join or Die
David Michael Newstead | The Philosophy of Shaving
Join or Die is an important and timely documentary about the future of the United States and the need to rejuvenate community connections, large and small. For years, churches, labor unions, parent-teacher associations, and other groups of every description have been in steady decline. The filmmakers draw attention to this alarming social isolation, to increases in loneliness and suicide, and to the impacts that civil society can have on our lives. But beyond the numbers, the documentary’s greatest achievement is humanizing decades of research and making difficult subject matter incredibly engaging to diverse audiences. By the end, it feels like everyone can contribute in their own way. These challenges aren’t abstract or insurmountable. Real people are working to address them and so can you! For that reason, Join or Die may very well be a historic milestone for us to look back on in the years to come. Can we build new communities and rekindle old ones? Will we respect and truly connect with one another? The outcome depends on each one of us.