Americans can fix their fraying society
This appeared in The Washington Post:
On July 4, Americans paused to celebrate the brave and radical actions of 1776, when 56 men signed the Declaration of Independence from the British monarchy, creating a nation that not only survives but also remains the world’s strongest. Wars, pandemics, inequality and political strife, among other challenges, have threatened this nation. But what those 56 men envisioned holds firm today: Its strength flows from Americans’ ability to acknowledge and work through differences.
Today, the United States doesn’t face a common external foe akin to the British crown — or the Soviet Union, as in the Cold War. Instead, cultural shifts among Americans threaten to make the country more divided and weaker. This long Independence Day weekend is time to recognize the danger of Americans’ growing independence from one another.
These cultural shifts are visible not just in increasing partisan polarization but also in how Americans relate to one another day by day. Americans volunteer less than they used to, increasingly making more time for their own hobbies, but not to help others. In the early 2000s, nearly 30 percent of Americans over age 16 said they volunteered at least once in the past year. That had fallen to 23 percent by 2021. It hasn’t been a straight decline, but the trend is generally downward. If volunteering rates now were similar to the early 2000s, about 12 million more people would volunteer each year. Many charities say they are seeing this firsthand as they struggle to get enough help. Charitable giving has declined even more. Nearly 70 percent of Americans said they gave money to a charitable cause in the early 2000s vs. only 50 percent in 2018.
The reasons are not entirely clear. The pandemic contributed to a pullback in any type of socializing in person. Some also point to the 2017 Republican tax law changes that led to fewer people claiming a charitable tax deduction, since they no longer itemize their deductions. But charitable giving was falling before that change, and most Americans weren’t giving solely for a tax write off. The bigger explanation appears to be a great disengagement from civic life. Many people no longer have interest in joining institutions of any sort — government, religious or civic. The United States is becoming a “less charitable nation,” researchers say.
The decline in volunteering and giving coincides with a drop-off in religious attendance, union membership and childbearing. Suburban areas have seen an especially large decline over time. Parents with children under 18 at home are more likely to volunteer formally. Many Americans say they help out neighbors informally by babysitting, petsitting or running errands, but these courtesies are not the same as formal volunteering, in which one helps people one does not know well — or at all.
More Americans seem to prioritize wellness — their mental and physical health, and their work-life balance — especially after the pandemic and as baby boomers age. In general, this is good — but not when taken to extremes. Entrepreneur Michael Karnjanaprakorn wrote recently that today’s status symbols are “sabbaticals, long attention spans, quality time with kids, valuing time over money, (a) slow and calm lifestyle, (a) meeting-free calendar, having ‘enough,’ early retirement (and a) biological age younger than your real age.” Noticeably absent from the list was any mention of using free time to help others — or connecting with new people, even though research shows that social interaction is crucial to overall health.
One result of these trends is a loneliness epidemic. Another is the weakening of Americans’ understanding and sense of connection to their fellow citizens. The country has a less generous welfare state than other advanced nations, offset somewhat by a strong charitable culture. But Americans now see less often parts of their communities outside their immediate friend circles and neighborhoods. Volunteering makes people aware of different socio-economic conditions and struggles — and ways to help.
The government can fill some of the gaps. The United States is the only advanced economy with no requirement that employers offer paid sick leave or paid vacation days. If employers closed on July 4, there is no federal law requiring employees to be paid for the holiday. That should change.
But the government cannot make up for the fraying of civil society, and it should not try. It is up to Americans to sustain and renew their bold experiment in self-government. In past periods of crisis and civil strife, they have. Current and rising generations can again, re-engaging in their communities for the sake of their country — and for themselves.