learntoquestion ltq discussions

Even though I don’t necessarily think that Brooks was wrong to say that the collective no longer holds the same, standard set of morals because of the success in America that the previous generation grew up in, I think he’s leaving out some very key factors here. America has been the most diverse it has ever been, we’re growing up with modern technology, and we live in a political climate where both sides are as polarizing as they can be with each other. I want to specifically focus on the last point for this question. I realize that this isn’t the first time that both political sides are at a standstill with each other, indeed, I think the era around Reconstruction is a great example of how the climate is like today as well. Both sides vehemently believe that their side is in the right to the point of extreme hostility. The things that each side values and are trying to protect are pretty similar to the two sides today. Compounded with the usage of social media and echo chambers, we often regard the other side as morally inferior and completely wrong. If a chunk of the population is split into two sides, it’s natural that this sense of distrust for our fellow Americans would be very high. In addition, using the examples of the government and institutional failures that happened in 2020 alone that Brooks listed off under the section “Failure of Institutions,” how can Americans be trusting when they constantly see how bad the government has been performing for the people?

I would say that the years leading up to where we are now was a decline, a dam that was right about to burst. I do have to say that there were some years that led to outbursts, such as gay rights in 2015 and the Black Lives Matter movement from 2014. However, the pandemic that we’re living through right now has been pushing so many otherwise apathetic or unaffected people into a massive state of mind, as the article puts it, “liberalism to activism,” though to me, it seems that Brooks believes the shift is from a general trend that became more exasperated in recent years rather than the last couple years igniting this switch. I would say that there is a growing decline in social mobility, economic stability, and mental health, and certainly 2020 has solidly contributed to the decline. But, one other thing that we as a society is going to maintain even after the pandemic is the knowledge that we’ve gained over this period. Much of the youth is more fired up than ever and traditionally oppressed groups and minorities have never reached this level of platform as they had before. However, even if I do want to be hopeful, the biggest and most important changes can only happen through the government. Brooks interestingly noted that every time the US goes through a catastrophe or some sort of extreme turmoil, there will always be a massive response of political reforms and social institutions. I believe that the election of 2020 will dictate whether or not we do go through that route or stay in this unrelenting decline. In the meantime, I want to stay hopeful and believe we’re in a pivot. Of course, the non-Trump side might not even necessarily do the right thing, and could continue to head into the course we’re currently in.

America is not the greatest nation of the world. America is the flashiest nation. It’s incredibly cunning in that it’s able to hide everything that is unglamorous about the country. America can never truly be a success story when the country has literally been powered through people who have been stripped bare of their humanity and have stayed shackled through the massively unbalanced socio-economic structure that we currently live in today. It‘s no surprise that everywhere you look on social media or the internet in general, you will find many non-Americans looking down on what it has become. Why has America, for so many years, refused to resolve these issues and truly be this country of the champion for equality, justice, and freedom that it has touted for so long? It’s simply because it doesn’t want to acknowledge them. Acknowledging them means that America is hypocritical, that it has been hypocritical from the start and has always been hypocritical since then. If you look at the composition of the government body and the wealth curve or anything of that sort, Brooks’s explanation of individualism is the key. People make decisions for what they most believe in, what they’re most affected by, and what they most care about. With individualism being driven so deep, it’s clear that that’s another reason why everybody was not championed for or accounted for.

I think @thesnackthatsmilesback puts it pretty well when they say that we’re not living in the age of disappointment but instead the age of knowing. Of course, newspapers, radios, and televisions have been widespread before the 2000s and especially so in the 1900s, but modern technology has put so much on our fingertips. Gone are the days where we actually have to wait to get our daily or weekly newspaper, instead, we can literally google anything we want under a second, provided that someone reported on it of course, which it almost usually is. It’s strange, we’re supposed to be more progressive than ever, yet when we look at what the government is doing and examine the framework of our society, the changes that we want to see are definitely not there. People have different ideas of “disappointment.” Some people are disappointed that the recent generation have become too “soft” and “sensitive,” which @user1234 also noted. Some people are disappointed because social mobility and the wealth gap is ever increasing despite a more educated population than ever. Some people are disappointed as the world becomes ever more connected with each other through the Internet, they feel helpless as they see the innumerous injustices, corruption, oppression, and abuse still going on. Brooks merely mentions the massive declining of the mental health and morale of young Americans as the climax of this moral climax, but I believe that the declining mental health is most attributed to the fact that because Americans have been more aware than ever of the precarious situation they themselves are in. It’s surprising at first to hear that depression is more common in developed countries than undeveloped countries, but I think it makes sense if we look at the amount of awareness, knowledge, and conversations that are happening to the people.

I think it’s more of “we’re victims to the system” rather than “we’re outsiders to the system.” I do agree with Levin however that the institutions dictate how success should be achieved and in turn spur how people should act and behave and do in order to be successful. I mean, Donald Trump is an example of a reality TV star becoming one of the most important American figures, therefore proving Levin’s claim that politicians only want to be in the spotlight, not because they believe they can help the country. Similar to how @Cookie Monster mentioned about the privileged class trying to preserve and maximize profits through the expense of everyone else, large corporations and of course the wealthy and the privileged still do the same thing now, largely because the system that the institutions have established allows and encourages for this type of thing to occur. The thing I disagree with though, is that the people still believe they have to live by this system, but feels powerless to act because of the means to change them (money, power, affluence) is unfortunately out of reach for those who truly needs it and the ones who do feel either apathetic or that they simply don’t want to change the status quo.

George Floyd is a fierce reminder that without changing or reforming the existing institutions, nothing would change. Because it happened during a time when everybody was glued to their phone, nobody could escape this grim reality. Tens of millions of eyes were on the justice system as the perpetrators were tried, so was it really surprising that Americans were enraged at our institutions and at our laws when they saw the outcome and finally realized America is no “champion of the people”? COVID only further highlighted the incompetency of our government and especially our figurehead. America is finally having its cracks exposed.

Originally posted by BLStudent on October 14, 2020 20:33

Yes a-lot of people in this moment are acting out of distrust in established institutions and a-lot the time this distrust is justified because of the repeated failures of these institutions. The BLM movement as Brooks pointed out is a great example of rightful distrust being displayed, the police are supposed to protect and serve the people but as we've seen countless times cops abuse their power and then the entire system does everything it can to protect them, Brooks also mentioned how the George Floyd incident wasn't the first like it but it definitely propelled the movement to the point its at now and for a lot of people the death of George Floyd was a wake up call despite this cycle of violence going on forever. I think currently were in a decline but were close to a pivot soon, right now with everything going America seems to be at a very low point but it seems like we are on the verge of making dramatic change with a growing awareness of various issues and the election of more progressive candidates specifically like Brooks mentioned AOC and Bernie. Most of us absolutely see ourselves as outsiders to the system right now because the system has failed. While Trumps presidency is part of this failure i believe its a symptom rather than a cause. For years under both Republicans and Democrats we've seen endless wars, economic instability, corruption and all types of misconduct so it really should come as no surprise that a so called "outsider" won the election. I would say the age of disappoint was more felt by millennials and because of that Gen Z had much lower expectations going in and a-lot of our low expectations turned out to be true. America is certainly of the richest and most powerful countries in the world but it also has countless issues that need to be resolved before it can even argue for the title of greatest nation. Fighting over greatest nation is generally a waste of time but if you were to then the best response would be the happiest nations in the world like Finland and Denmark as opposed to the US which is often not even in the top 10.

I agree with what you said about fighting over the greatest nation and how it is pointless and I think it is very interesting how this is not only a theme for America but also BLS. Our school slogan is Sumus Primi and although we are considerered "smart" we have poor mental health services and it is interesting how we value such things as grades over the well being of people. I liked how you said that the greatest nations were the happiest ones because it seems like today our values are very skewed and the emotions of the people do not matter. But to be a great nation you need compassion and trust to be great thus making us... not great.

Originally posted by Cookie Monster on October 14, 2020 16:24

Individualism was only emphasized for those in the first class of our society, while every one else was marginalized for being a member of a marginalized group. Thus, the cohesiveness that Brooks reiterated is contradicts the actual picture of American culture at the time.

This is why I heavily disagree with Brooks's point that America used to have a single mainstream culture. From the moment the country became populated with settlers, the "culture" and the way of life in each colony was vastly different from each other due to the different types of settlers in each area and the geography in which they live in. It wasn't until the Civil War era that Americans were finally encouraging this idea of the American collective. Sure, some people might be tied together by the films, books, and music they listen to, but they were almost exclusively made by white Americans for white Americans. People who simply are not white or who do not fit the mold are not part of the white mainstream culture, instead, they have their own unique culture. Therefore, it's wrong to say that America has this one super cohesive mainstream culture that every American can relate to. Even today, the lack of non-white representation in mainstream culture is quite low, despite minorities making up 40% of the population.

Originally posted by user1234 on October 14, 2020 17:50

The article was very interesting, and I think that it brought up a very good point about the social distrust that is currently happening in America. Although some people might not even realize it everything going on in America right now is because of the lack of trust that they have in other people. Taking politics for example, it was interesting when the article talked about how some people of low income voted for Trump because they felt so betrayed by elite politicians. Like the article mentions, the pandemic was a chance for all of us to come together, but instead we turned against each other, and that just goes to show the deep rooted issue of mistrust in America.

I agree with @thesnackwhosmilesback when they said that they hope they aren’t being naive by thinking of this time as a pivot and not a decline. Although maybe my thinking is naive, I think Gen Z is taking advantage of this time and making it a pivot. I’ve seen so many of my peers and other kids my age on the internet use their voices to help bring change. We aren’t declining because even though my generation was born into a society of distrust we are trying our hardest to try to bring people together. Like the article says we are using tools like social media to bring awareness to issues and make people feel like they have a community that they can feel safe and trust completely.

When I hear “the United States is the greatest nation in the world” I have mixed emotions. Although I know America is much better than a lot of other countries because of the economy and the different freedoms that a lot of people don’t have, at the same time America also has a lot of negative aspects. As much as people preach that everyone is treated equally in America that is very far from true. So many minority groups have been marginalized for centuries. Just looking at 2020 black Americans live in fear everyday that they’re lives are in danger even if they’re in their own homes. It just makes me upset that people, especially older people will get mad at me for questioning if America is really all that great, and I think in part it has to do with the fact that they were born into a time that was full of hope and things were going well. I just hope that it doesn’t blind them from the fact that America also has its flaws.

I 100% percent agree that my generation was born in a time of disappointment because we’re constantly being let down. We were born in the early 2000’s when everyone had just gone through the “summer” that was the 90’s, and when we were born everyone had lived through so much tragedy already and lost all the good expectations they had. How can we not feel disappointed when everyday we’re being taught that racism is a thing of the past, and then we see black people being murdered by white police officers for no reason. Our government is quite possibly the worst it’s ever been. Our country is being led by a president who was a reality star with no prior experience in politics before he became president. Everyday there’s something new that disappoints us. I’ve had older people tell me that we're too “soft” and “complain” too much, but I don’t think we’re the ones who are the problem, it's the environment we’ve grown up in.

I agree with Levin’s point that we see ourselves as outsiders because of our distrust in the people around us. Although I agree I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing. In order to get to the place of ‘What can we do?” we have to realize that what’s happening to us is not okay. We have to be able to see that everything going on is affecting all of us in order to get to a place where we can come together to fight against it. I think that the pandemic and all the racial injustice that is going on in our country is making us scared, and making us feel like outsiders. The thing we need to realize is that in order to get to a better place we have to put trust in each other. Although we feel we’ve been wronged before by the system, we can’t let that stop us from believing in humanity. That only way we’ll get to a place where we put the collective before the individual is, like the article states, by having faith in each other.

I agree with the fact that we need to find a way to build the trust because there's nothing else to do. Society has gone to complete ish and without any union we're only going to go down. It's not supposed to be easy because it's like walking in the dark, but there needs to be some sort of faith if any progression is going to happen.

I think that today Americans are far less generous with their trust, but not without good reason. Maybe it’s because I’ve grown up in the city, but I think it is unreasonable and dangerous to grant those around you trust without them earning it first. It is difficult to have trust in strangers when you know what people are capable of, and the same goes for larger societal institutions when you understand the history behind them and their actions today. As regions have become more culturally, racially, and ideologically diverse, implicit biases and conflicting viewpoints can make it more challenging to allocate trust based on proximity and location alone. People naturally gravitate towards those they can relate to, and thanks to modern technology, people’s social spheres can now extend far beyond the limits of their block, city, even the country. This means less dependence on the neighborhood for a source of community and group identity. Technology and the media have also made us accutely aware of all the ways in which society and government have seemingly failed us. Brooks seems a bit mournful that be have lost this sense of local community, but I think it has allowed us to broaden our own thinking and access more perspectives.

Brooks often mentions how Millenials and younger generations are becoming increasingly jaded and distrustful, which could be due to their greater exposure to reality at a young age through the internet and media. They have also entered adult life and the workforce in a time when, as Brooks points out, they can’t expect a higher quality of life than their parents had. I think it is accurate to say that us younger generations are living in an age of disappointment. After being fed stories of the American Dream our whole childhoods, it is a rude awakening to realize that there are so many unexpected obstacles along the way, both for ourselves and others. With our heightened sense of morality and empathy, it is easy to feel disappointed when the government fails to address the causes that we care about and are most affected by. This ties into Brooks’ quote from Yuval Levin, which points out how people in a low trust environment are more likely to isolate themselves from society and assign it blame rather than ask “what can we do?”. I don’t believe a population’s reaction can be realistically simplified to these two alternatives. On their own, neither is very reflective of what we’ve seen in the US recently. Although we are living through a period of low trust, as Brooks’ stresses with reputable data throughout the essay, Americans have taken it upon themselves to demand change and accountability from the societal institutions they believe have failed us. This is evident in the many protestors taking to the streets and social media sites to advocate for law enforcement and legal reform. While calling out these issues, many have also acknowledged how these systems have contributed to their own privilege and benefit, which seems to me to be a balance between the two instincts Levin and Brooks referred to. So while we are outsiders to these systems based on our lack of direct influence and power within them, we still feel some level of social responsibility to act when they have failed us.

I think incessant patriotism and the idea of America being “the greatest nation in the world” is somewhat outdated and relies on selective memory. A large portion of our success as a country was made possible by the oppression and exploitation of many groups, which has left lasting scars, and so a lot of these broad statements of praise often leave me wondering things like “but for whom is it so great?”. We have been making significant progress since our founding, setting us ahead of many countries around the world, and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. However, I think you can be proud of your country while still acknowledging its shortcomings and failures, and working toward changing those.

We are certainly in a period of great upheaval and change, but departure from tradition or normalcy isn’t always an indication of decline. We are seeing economic decline, but hopefully we can begin to recover from this once the pandemic is under control. Brooks wrote “The stench of national decline is in the air. A political, social, and moral order is dissolving. America will only remain whole if we can build a new order in its place.” If you rely on sociopolitical stability as the sole metric by which to discern the state of our nation, then sure, we are in somewhat of a decline right now. However, I see our current situation as a result of the frustrations and wrongs that have been accumulating for years. Covid and the murder of George Floyd have brought them to the surface, exacerbating the disparities that have always existed in our society. How can we just now be on a decline when these problems have persisted for generations, and we are just now confronting them? So on some level I do agree with Brooks, in that we need to rethink the order of our country and its institutions. The current moment is an opportunity to pivot in a new direction, and if we fail to do so our country will surely suffer.

Brooks ends his piece by writing “Sometimes trust blooms when somebody holds you against all logic, when you expected to be dropped.” However, I think that in order to restore trust within our nation, there are a few things that need to be dropped. The complacent, indifferent attitudes of the past, the division and dishonesty among our leading officials all need to go, and hopefully that can start this November.

If Brooks is correct, events such as the Pandemic, the killing of George Floyd, and others are fuel accelerating the process of the United States eminent pivot or collapse. Although they hold significance out of this context as well, I think that this is essentially true. In the case of the Pandemic, no doubt it would inevitably have caused chaos no matter the situation of the United States. However, I think it is quite telling that a country equipped with perhaps the most and best resources to deal with a public health threat has had the most cases and deaths of any country and has handled the Pandemic arguably the worst of any nation. I think it is also telling of the lack of trust and morality that the pandemic is talked and thought about mostly politically, when it has caused over 200,000 deaths and continues to tear through the country. As for the murder of George Floyd and subsequent protests, while in a positive sense, many people are truly passionate about reforming policing and stopping the tragic killings of African Americans, this too has created significant division and is used yet again as a political tool. Putting these protests in the context of imminent change could also answer why this issue has reached a climax now despite the history of police brutality. Throughout all of these events and their analysis, I think along with trust, fear lies at the heart of these issues. Fear certainly plays a role in the reaction to the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter Protests, the upcoming election, and everywhere else in the United States. When people are afraid, they turn to drastic measures and as Brooks stressed, we will see if this will lead to a pivot or decline in the United States.

Originally posted by ernest. on October 14, 2020 18:54

Wow. Before I begin, I would like to say that this article was the most impressive piece of (nonfiction) writing I’ve ever come across. In the last year or so, I’ve come to start thinking a lot about our times and how they fit into History, the World, and Everything, and the way that this article seemed to be able to so clearly elucidate the context and reality of our times within its breadth was deeply impactful. I truly hope that I am able to write like Brooks one day.

Brooks is dead on when he faults societal distrust as a primary contributor to our society’s apparent crisis of social trust (I say apparent because, until reading this, I had not much considered that the “explosive” social distrust of today might be unique to our time). But I think it is necessary to elaborate on some of his points, especially when he highlights periods of “moral convulsion.” He paints the ‘90s under the broad stroke of general prosperity, both in actual indicators of societal well-being, and in perceptions of that well-being. However, one has to wonder—while we can accept that the ‘90s might have been a more prosperous period than today, did those good perceptions originate completely from the actual welfare of the economy, politics, and institutions, or did some great part of them stem from a lack of awareness of and consideration for other issues? Gay marriage was not legal in the ‘90s, and sodomy laws still existed in many states. Racism was certainly not at any kind of new low. Was the highly globalized supply chain of free market capitalism somehow less abusive to the workers in less-developed countries than it is now, or than it was beforehand in the ‘80s? Clearly, it was not all sunshine and daisies. Might periods of moral convulsion in the past have been more of an awakening, a stronger awareness of all the aspects of our society, than simply another period of upheaval in the regular intervals of social change and unrest?

We are living through a decline. There is no question about that; I cannot imagine a reason someone would say we are currently living through more of a pivot than a decline. Of course, there is complexity to the question. Brooks makes the entire thing seem more black-and-white than I really think it is: periods aren’t just either pivot and decline, they’re filled with movements and popular sentiments that lean in both directions, and it doesn’t make sense to say we’re only either in one or the other. In this period, however, with the economy poised to sink into a deleterious depression (especially if Congress cannot pass another stimulus package, ahem), with divisions higher than ever, with the pandemic raging as hard as ever, and with distrust and even disdain for authorities and experts proliferating, we are in an unmistakable decline. The good news, I think, is that in the social justice and equality sphere, the seeds have really been planted over the last few months in the Millennial and Gen Z generations that will lead to meaningful reforms over the next decade or more, as they grow in political force and a now-ingrained focus on anti-racism has its effects on policy and more.

Brooks’s praises for America are idealistic. It’s true that America has had great success in many areas: a robust and dominant economy, effective preeminence in the international community, and a history of democracy that, at least in the 19th century, seemed far ahead of many other monarchical or otherwise autocratic nations and empires. Nonetheless, it also has plenty shortcomings which we are all well aware of, like slavery, abuse and decimation of native peoples, and other deeply-entrenched systemic discrimination and oppression. So (especially during this time) it is a bit misguided to end with its “dazzling achievement.” But I disagree with @thesnackthatsmilesback, when they say Brooks is totally wrong and the world is laughing at America. In my opinion, this is conflating America’s current poor leadership and standing with its overall history. For the reasons I’ve listed at the beginning of this paragraph, America is definitely still respected and looked up to throughout the world, even if it is to a lesser extent today, and you can see this in the statements of political leaders, professionals, and others from abroad.

The Age of Disappointment has totally shaped our generation. This section of the article was particularly interesting to read and I think it convincingly argued that Gen Z, knowing nothing else, has become pretty mistrustful of authorities and institutions. And while this is healthy and understandable to a great extent, we have to be able to trust, and utilize, our institutions if we are to maintain and improve the condition of our society. For example, while it might be understandable that a Gen Z-er would express distrust in the efficacy of our voting system due to the electoral college, voter suppression, and disenfranchisement, the only way to actually change that problem is to vote. Thus it is extremely necessary for us to keep our faith in the systems and to keep using them, even while acknowledging their imperfection. This segues into my thoughts on Levin’s comment. While I think the quotation itself is illogical given the reality of how people operate in low-trust periods, its point is a good one. In low-trust periods like these, the emphasis is on both how the system is perceived to be failing, and how people believe they can fix it. The BLM movement and Trump’s unique brand/base have this in common, that they both see a system that is failing them, but also are looking to see what they can do, though in the case of Trump’s brand, “what they can do” seems more than anything keeping Trump and similar conservatives in office and nothing more.

I’d like to lastly add that for people like @thesnackthatsmilesback who see themselves as outsiders to the system- don’t, or at least, try not to. Seeing yourself as an outsider, is, I think, a consequence of a lot of stuff that Brooks talked about, but nonetheless it’s really important to realize that, as a member of society, you are society, you are the system, and that the federal government, while often disgracefully inactive on important issues, is not just in it for The 0.01% Elites and themselves. To begin with, all the congresspeople responsible for the lack of reform are not just sitting on Capitol Hill and deciding which reforms they want to support based on whims. Their actions are based on political calculations that involve what their constituents support, and what suits their agenda. At the moment, the majority of senators apparently do not believe that their constituents are in favor of change, and so the House bill meant to combat police brutality, and more, failed to pass. However, we will see shortly just how accurate that assessment was… and if polls remain as they stand now, it’s just not looking too good for Republicans at the moment. So while initial action failed, there is still hope for more to occur later on. And even then, action does not only happen on a national level. It starts with individuals who use whatever power they have, in club, sports, and extracurricular leadership, for example, to effect change. It occurs on the district, city, county, state, and even international level as well. And so far in 2020, change has definitely occurred on those levels, even if we still have farther to go. I firmly believe that the institutions currently in place do offer hope for change, even if they do not guarantee it.

So so sorry for the genuinely titanic length of this post *insert crying emoji*

I love how you described Brooks' depiction of past eras as being under "the broad stroke of general prosperity", and I think this is how many Americans choose to view our history. The rhetoric of our politicians, both revered and disliked, has certainly contributed to this perspective, as they are quicker to praise America for its achievements than to acknowledge its faults. However, it is because of these consistent faults that I believe we are in no more of a decline than we have been in the past. The convergence of our country's past wrongs and the new challenges brought on by the pandemic have elevated many of these longstanding issues to the point where willful ignorance is impossible. I think that right now we are at a cross roads. If we choose to continue on the path of denial and sociopolitical stagnancy, we will certainly descend into a darker part of our history. But if we are able to change the direction our nation is heading in, we could see significant improvement in many respects in the future. It seems like the election is going to determine how all of this turns out, which is why I agree that everyone, especially young people, needs to vote. It physically pains me whenever I see someone thinking they are making a statement by not voting because neither of the candidates appeal to them. However, I have confidence that these people do not reflect the majority, and that we will see a monumental voter turnout this year.

Originally posted by wisteria on October 15, 2020 00:12

I think that today Americans are far less generous with their trust, but not without good reason. Maybe it’s because I’ve grown up in the city, but I think it is unreasonable and dangerous to grant those around you trust without them earning it first. It is difficult to have trust in strangers when you know what people are capable of, and the same goes for larger societal institutions when you understand the history behind them and their actions today. As regions have become more culturally, racially, and ideologically diverse, implicit biases and conflicting viewpoints can make it more challenging to allocate trust based on proximity and location alone. People naturally gravitate towards those they can relate to, and thanks to modern technology, people’s social spheres can now extend far beyond the limits of their block, city, even the country. This means less dependence on the neighborhood for a source of community and group identity. Technology and the media have also made us accutely aware of all the ways in which society and government have seemingly failed us. Brooks seems a bit mournful that be have lost this sense of local community, but I think it has allowed us to broaden our own thinking and access more perspectives.

Brooks often mentions how Millenials and younger generations are becoming increasingly jaded and distrustful, which could be due to their greater exposure to reality at a young age through the internet and media. They have also entered adult life and the workforce in a time when, as Brooks points out, they can’t expect a higher quality of life than their parents had. I think it is accurate to say that us younger generations are living in an age of disappointment. After being fed stories of the American Dream our whole childhoods, it is a rude awakening to realize that there are so many unexpected obstacles along the way, both for ourselves and others. With our heightened sense of morality and empathy, it is easy to feel disappointed when the government fails to address the causes that we care about and are most affected by. This ties into Brooks’ quote from Yuval Levin, which points out how people in a low trust environment are more likely to isolate themselves from society and assign it blame rather than ask “what can we do?”. I don’t believe a population’s reaction can be realistically simplified to these two alternatives. On their own, neither is very reflective of what we’ve seen in the US recently. Although we are living through a period of low trust, as Brooks’ stresses with reputable data throughout the essay, Americans have taken it upon themselves to demand change and accountability from the societal institutions they believe have failed us. This is evident in the many protestors taking to the streets and social media sites to advocate for law enforcement and legal reform. While calling out these issues, many have also acknowledged how these systems have contributed to their own privilege and benefit, which seems to me to be a balance between the two instincts Levin and Brooks referred to. So while we are outsiders to these systems based on our lack of direct influence and power within them, we still feel some level of social responsibility to act when they have failed us.

I think the your perspective on trust is so interesting, starting with the wording of being "generous" with trust. I'm not sure why that struck me, maybe it is just the emphasis that trust doesn't just happen, it must be given to people freely. Another point you brought up was the possibility of growing up in a city affecting your perception on trust. I never really thought about that as affect my ability to trust — I was mostly aware of urban-life impacts on my perspective of privilege, diversity, and access to resources. But I wonder if growing up in a city feels more isolating than rural areas where you might know all your neighbors so it's difficult to build trust, or if it's being in proximity to all sorts of working adults who might not have the public's best interest at heart — I'm not sure if you were getting at that, but your sentence did make me wonder.

One point I agree with is that the contrast between the American Dream and reality has had a hand in this "age of disappointment" in our generation. What I find interesting though is your statement, "with our heightened sense of morality and empathy," because I wonder if other generations could characterize us in the same way, or what words they'd use. Personally, while I do agree that perhaps there is greater empathy due to the decline in this "liberalism"/"individualism" mentality, I'm not sure if we do have greater morals, or just different ones. I do agree though that this disappointment is cause by institutions which don't "address the causes that we care about," and I wonder how we could make them listen, without having to "wait our turn"