How to Actually Make America Great

[NWRatCon]

How to Actually Make America Great (David Brooks, Opinion, NYT, Subscription)

This pivotal moment isn’t just the result of four years of Donald Trump. It’s the culmination of 50 years of social decay.
....

The American century was built during these decades of social progress (1870s to 1960s). And then, around the late 1960s, it all turned south.

Over the past 50 years, the positive trends have reversed: membership in civic organizations has collapsed, political polarization has worsened, income inequality has widened, social trust has cratered, religious attendance is down, social mobility has decreased, deaths of despair have skyrocketed and on and on.
....
The crucial change was in mind-set and culture. As Putnam and Garrett write: “The story of the American experiment in the twentieth century is one of a long upswing toward increasing solidarity, followed by a steep downturn into increasing individualism. From ‘I’ to ‘we’ and back again to ‘I’.”

I'm sometimes a little late in finding these gems, but this is a worthy read and gives much fodder for discussion.

 

[Chomsky]

How to Actually Make America Great (David Brooks, Opinion, NYT, Subscription)
I'm sometimes a little late in finding these gems, but this is a worthy read and gives much fodder for discussion.

Damn. I couldn't agree more! Too bad I'm stuck outside the paywall ...

 

[NWRatCon]

Damn. I couldn't agree more! Too bad I'm stuck outside the paywall ...

I'm sorry. That's why I always mention that when I post. I have subscriptions to NYT, Atlantic and TIME, which I reference frequently.

 

[RealityNow]

How to Actually Make America Great (David Brooks, Opinion, NYT, Subscription)
I'm sometimes a little late in finding these gems, but this is a worthy read and gives much fodder for discussion.

This period of the past 50+ yrs of Modern Day Republicanism Ingrained Confederate Mentality has Exposed The Continued Confederate Ideology of Racism and Monetary Based Cast and Caste Promotions; is what stands in the way of American Progress and The Greatness American Can Honestly Achieve.

 

[Chomsky]

I'm sorry. That's why I always mention that when I post. I have subscriptions to NYT, Atlantic and TIME, which I reference frequently.

Not at all. The (Chicago) Tribune picked it up, and I'm now perusing the Amazon book reviews. The author also wrote, "Bowling Alone", which is on my list of books to read - too!

Anyway, I very much agree with the author's premise. A perfect example might be mask use. Where 'independence, freedom, liberty', is selfishly pushed over 'social responsibility'.

The author's right. It started in the late sixties, with the 'do your own thing' & 'if it feels good - do it' crowd. For all the societal aspirations espoused, there was a great deal of individual selfishness. Actually, we can probably trace the beginnings even further, back to the Beats. Kerouac, Ginsberg, etc.

How different the Beats & Hippies were, to their WW-II era parents. Parents who may have been the epitome of societal unison & responsibility. They were the generation of 'joiners'! That's the easiest way to say it.