America on the Brink

today, we are losing ground in the struggle, and there is an embrace of the worst of ourselves that has gained a foothold in this nation. .

the graphic below.

America 2020-2021 An Era of Great Social Upheaval & Deep Social Rifts

Global Pandemic “Covid - 19”

Political system w/ dysfunction & gridlock

Entrenched Racism & Xenophobia

Weakening Infrastructure

Gross Economic

Collapse of Meaning & Declining Influence of Religion

Disparities & Mass Poverty

When we peel the layer back and look closer, we see a more troubling picture of the nature of the American crisis. There is a stubborn refusal to right the wrongs of the past and present around issues of race, political dysfunction in Washington that is more beholden to corporate interests than the people, and a hyper-partisan “tribalistic” two party system that is tearing the country apart. There are also gross economic inequities and poverty that affect mil lions of lives. Then, there is persistent violence at every level of human and social interaction including domestic violence, rape, and mass shootings. In the face of such big and complex social problems, the empty quest for mate rialism and pleasure seeks to fill or give meaning to the rampant nihilism we have unleashed on ourselves and each other. All of this is happening amidst devastating loss of life. For over a year, major news networks tracked the number of Americans contracting and dying from this novel coronavirus. The numbers are staggering. Over 561,000 Americans have died from this coronavirus – more than the deaths from both WW1 and WW2. Daily we witness the spectacle of rampant cynicism, violence, discord, neglect for vulnerable members of society, profound moral confusion, and a kind of irrationality that is utterly baffling, like those who believe the pandemic was some hoax or those latching on to conspiracy theories. Others see it too. In the Atlantic article, “A Nation Coming Apart,” Jeffrey Goldberg worried that the ties that bind us are fraying at an alarming speed, that we are becoming contemptuous of each other in ways that are both dire and possibly irreversible. Dan Zak’s Washington Post article, “The Collapse of American Exceptionalism,” quoted Elizabeth Tandy Schermer, an associate professor of history at Loyola University Chicago, who said we “can no longer pretend that ‘the American century’ isn't over.” She views “the years since 1968 as a cycle of recessions and widening inequality, debt and disenfranchisement that is only now becoming apparent to broader America - white America, moneyed America - because the pandemic and social media have made it impossible to ignore. Institutions have been deteriorating and failing us for generations, she says, but we rigged work arounds with our own social network and mutual-aid groups. We made do. Then the pandemic scattered us, isolated us, exposed us for what we really are.” These are samples of a robust national conversation that include other articles such as Joel Kotkin’s, “America’s Drift toward Feudalism,” and the controversial Rolling Stone article titled, “The Unraveling of America,” about a country losing its soul. In a sense, the pandemic both exposed and exacerbated weak points in our systems and citizenry that will take years to address. 18 When we peel the layer back and look closer, we see a more troubling picture of the nature of the American crisis. There is a stubborn refusal to right the wrongs of the past and present around

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