As 2024 draws to an end, it should be apparent that extraordinary times call for extraordinary political leadership. Candidates running on a platform of normalcy, of maintaining the status quo with a couple of careful tweaks, only prompt exasperated eye rolls from a decisive chunk of the American electorate. Too many of us feel besieged, pessimistic, lonely, anxious, and mistrustful. Among young adults, 58 percent report lacking a sense of meaning or purpose in their lives. Ours is a populace in a slow-moving crisis. Pointing out that inflation isn’t growing so fast anymore and unemployment is pretty low are paths to electoral irrelevance. The future belongs to a different kind of politics.
Some who came of age in a time of relative stability and optimism are skeptical politicians can do anything to restore Americans’ sense of meaning, purpose, and belonging. When U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Ct.) proposed that government should pay attention to these issues, Politico replied with the quietly snarky headline “Sen. Murphy wants to help you make friends.” The next day, National Review followed with one of its own: “The Government Won’t Keep You Warm at Night.”