I’ve been getting a ton of posts from you lately. I think we come from the same place in terms of outlook on life and values.
This post was extremely interesting and well-written. I agree with most of it. But I’m not so optimistic that your bullet list would get at anything but the symptoms.
I was a teacher for nearly a half century and routinely observed that kids who really act out come from a terrible place. The problem is deeply embedded where “Hurt people hurt” here in Canada where I live just as in America. Guns of course are the force multiplier. We just don’t have them in the numbers America does. We have the occasional spat about them, but it always dies down. Guns are a religion of sorts in America and there aren’t enough atheists.
I’ve thought about America a lot and have concluded that there is virtually no hope for it to regain its sanity.
I am brutally and fully pessimistic. And the saddest thing is that in the 40 or 50 times I’ve been there I’ve met the nicest, most open people. (Canadians are far more reserved.) As a country, you don’t deserve this.
The root cause of the problem, I believe, is loneliness, which all too often descends into anger. There’s far more to it than that of course, but I think that’s at rock bottom.
It’s a history of America from the Fifties onward with emphasis on the development of a series of changes to America which contribute to its current dire situation.
It’s called Frayed. Splintered. Shattered?
It’s free. There are ~50 essays posted. I have reached the Eighties. You might be interested.
I agree with your position and am deeply saddened by this harsh reality. We’ve also seen them weaponize vehicles, driving them into crowds of people. Free speech is one thing but prolific lying shouldn’t count as free speech. More than 2 mass shootings per day ought to shake everyone’s core confidence... but apparently not.
I’ve been getting a ton of posts from you lately. I think we come from the same place in terms of outlook on life and values.
This post was extremely interesting and well-written. I agree with most of it. But I’m not so optimistic that your bullet list would get at anything but the symptoms.
I was a teacher for nearly a half century and routinely observed that kids who really act out come from a terrible place. The problem is deeply embedded where “Hurt people hurt” here in Canada where I live just as in America. Guns of course are the force multiplier. We just don’t have them in the numbers America does. We have the occasional spat about them, but it always dies down. Guns are a religion of sorts in America and there aren’t enough atheists.
I’ve thought about America a lot and have concluded that there is virtually no hope for it to regain its sanity.
I am brutally and fully pessimistic. And the saddest thing is that in the 40 or 50 times I’ve been there I’ve met the nicest, most open people. (Canadians are far more reserved.) As a country, you don’t deserve this.
The root cause of the problem, I believe, is loneliness, which all too often descends into anger. There’s far more to it than that of course, but I think that’s at rock bottom.
I write on Substack.
eodonnell.substack.com.
It’s a history of America from the Fifties onward with emphasis on the development of a series of changes to America which contribute to its current dire situation.
It’s called Frayed. Splintered. Shattered?
It’s free. There are ~50 essays posted. I have reached the Eighties. You might be interested.
Eric
I agree with your position and am deeply saddened by this harsh reality. We’ve also seen them weaponize vehicles, driving them into crowds of people. Free speech is one thing but prolific lying shouldn’t count as free speech. More than 2 mass shootings per day ought to shake everyone’s core confidence... but apparently not.