1. Is This the Death of Civility?
A moralization of politics, evolving beyond simple differences in opinion, is complete. How can society achieve the consensus it needs to function if everyone regards rivals as “Nazis,” “traitors” or “enemies of the people”? Trump, the torchbearer, has at times fueled racial tensions and stomped on his perceived enemies, citizens and institutions alike. Some have become radicalized by the president’s behavior, meeting fire with fire — from erecting guillotines to accosting Senators to defending violent looters as collecting what society owes them. Meanwhile, the American Fringes have continually hijacked the discourse, worming their ideas into some of America’s most revered institutions. The loss of civility playing out on the national stage has had ripple effects, reflected in an apparent uptick in nastiness nationwide, with ordinary citizens bickering over face masks in stores, trolling each other on social media and facing off over campaign signs next door. In a multiethnic, multicultural and increasingly crowded democracy, respecting commonality while acknowledging differences has been the surest way of moving forward — but it has become a casualty of rising American anger.
2. Is This the Death of Fair Play?
Questioning fact-based truths and the media undermines democracy by enabling self-serving narratives and conspiracy theories on both sides. Without even basic facts that both sides trust on issues like mask-wearing and ballot security, finding common ground becomes almost impossible. Socially, internet users have become less generous and more aggressive toward those they perceive as enemies. Politically, fairness has been discarded by Republicans willing to flout their own talking points from 2016 in a naked power grab to fill a Supreme Court seat. The president, who notably didn’t win the popular vote, has nominated judge Amy Coney Barrett, who will likely be voted for by two appointed U.S. Senators who have never faced accountability from voters, Sens. Martha McSally of Arizona and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia (the GOP will argue decorum went out the window with the aggressive fight Democrats led against Brett Kavanaugh in 2018). And as Donald Trump already discredits millions of mail-ballot votes in the 2020 election while refusing to promise a peaceful transfer of power, many wonder if the game is rigged.
3. Is This the Death of Capitalism?
Amid the pandemic, we have witnessed U.S. billionaires amassing nearly $1 trillion, unemployment rising to a 15 percent peak and the loss of employer-backed health insurance for 12 million Americans. Between 1975 and 2020, the top 1 percent took $50 trillion from the bottom 90 percent in wages that failed to keep up with the times. Wealth for white Americans is 13 times that of the median Black household, because while President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal helped expand the postwar middle class for white America, it left out communities of color. So American communities are struggling: They are working more and earning less while seeing the cost of living and education drastically increase. When society doesn’t feel its needs are being met, populism — from the right or left — can look inviting. Unless concrete fixes are made, “popular anger is here to stay,” writes the National Review’s Mathis Bitton.
4. Racial Harmony?
Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of a world where his Black children stood hand-in-hand with white children and were judged not by “the color of their skin, but the content of their character” remains elusive. The Black Lives Matter movement has spotlighted the many racial injustices faced by people of color today. Both activists and lawmakers have called for positive change but have seen little progress.
