Although I can find his writing style somewhat overwrought, this December 23 opinion column by Armstrong Williams in The Baltimore Sun held some interesting observations about where we stand in America now:
“People get up, commute, grind through work, juggle kids and side hustles, scroll in bed until their eyes burn, then do it again tomorrow. They are surviving, but they are not living. …
“So what do we do? First, we need leaders willing to tell the truth about the cost-of-living crisis and the debt trap. …
“Second, we have to rebuild community on purpose. Policy can help … but it cannot substitute for the choice to be rooted. …
“Third, we must treat the mental health crisis as both a medical and a moral challenge. Therapy and medication can be lifesaving, but they cannot manufacture purpose. People need responsibilities that matter, relationships that endure, and a vision of life that goes beyond consumption and self-expression. Politics can make it easier or hard to build that kind of life, but it cannot replace the hard work of commitment, forgiveness, and self-discipline.
“Finally, we have to stop sprinting away from God and then wondering why everything feels empty. The American experiment was never meant to function on material prosperity alone. It assumed a people who believed they were accountable to something higher than their appetites and their politics. …
And the conclusion:
RIght now, too many Americans are white-knuckling their way through each month — nervous, numb, and spiritually adrift. Changing course will require more than a new policy or president. It will require rebuilding the financial, social, and spiritual foundations that make real life possible …”
