Talking to my family and my friends, looking at national polls, and feeling the quiet despair within myself, it seems we, as a country, are not in a good place. Adolescent anxiety is at record highs. The Department of Health and Human Services has called ‘loneliness’ a national epidemic. The number of people who describe members of the other political party as ‘evil’ or similar terms is rising.
As a researcher who studies adolescents, I am profoundly saddened by the weekly reports of shootings at what should be affirming gatherings – homecoming games, school dances, and festivals. The very events that should be bringing us together and building community are becoming sites of sadness and grief. Where I live – northeast OH – they are being canceled to protect student safety. My son called this morning to say that two students in the high school where he teaches were shot walking home from a homecoming game.
Even drivers seem aggressive – speeding, ignoring courtesy. Windows blacked out so you can’t see other drivers. License plates frequently missing or obscured. We are increasingly anonymous, which further increases the likelihood that we act without consideration – or even cruelly – towards one another.
Bitter partisan attacks – from both sides – are one of the many factors feeding into this. And the siloing of our lives – on social media, but also in our neighborhoods, churches, and workplaces – means we live in echo chambers. One person makes a comment moving discussion of the ‘other side’ from issues to ad hominem attacks, body shaming, or contempt. When we believe everyone agrees, no one checks each other, and our conversations move more and more into demonization.
Bridging the partisan divide
I don’t think any of this makes us happy.
We have lived through other times of deep political divisions. McCarthyism and the Red Scare in the 1950’s were a particularly frightening and bitter historical era.
