David Brooks, an editorial columnist for The New York Times, is a rather interesting fellow; maintaining interest, after all, is essentially his job. Not to discredit him, however - he has a genuine knack for spotting trends and truths which would be easy to overlook.
On Tuesday, Brooks ran a column titled "The Happiness Gap". Brooks highlights a number of striking statistics: a Pew Research Center survey found that 86 percent of Americans are satisfied with their jobs and 76 percent are satisfied with their family income and 65 percent are satisfied with their lives in general. Meanwhile, only 25 percent of Americans are satisfied with the state of the nation, only 40 percent think our leaders have a positive influence on the nation, 68 percent of Americans think that the country is on the wrong track and 60 percent believe the lives of their children will be worse than their own.
Basically, the modern American is happy with his life, but incredibly discontent with the state of his government. It's interesting stuff to consider - interesting stuff from which Brooks draws an entirely wrong-headed conclusion; his analysis is that people want the government to step back from their personal lives more than ever before, that they want the government to focus solely on overarching issues of economics, climate and foreign policy. In a nutshell, says Brooks, "today, people want the government to change so their own lives can stay the same. Voters don't want to be transformed; they want to be defended."
It's not that what Brooks thinks is important: what's important is that what Brooks thinks is typical political thinking. We live in an age where it's expected for the government to expect nothing from us. If there's any cloud of darkness in our lives, it must be blowing in from Iraq, China or the melting poles, because it's a certainty that we're happy in our domestic lives.
Except that America's domestic happiness is far from as certain as the Pew Center's 65 percent would have one believe. It's difficult to reconcile the idea of a largely content America with an America where depression is the leading cause of disability - with an America where less than 50 percent of the population has a single close confidante - with an America striving for a sense of meaning and connection through social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, Second Life and World of Warcraft. An America where 10 million people would rather be Troll Shamans then real-world citizens is not exactly a self-satisfied one.
America consists of escapists and YouTubers, who are obsessed with top models and dancing stars, who are tired of a government with which they feel no connection, and who are certain that they are leaving their children a legacy of carbon dioxide and poverty. How can it be said that America is largely happy?
It seems more reasonable to assert that we are a nation adrift. America circa 2007 has neither a moon landing to work towards nor an Evil Empire to fight. The greatest threat to our national security is probably Communist China - where 66 percent of comrades consider the U.S. to be their greatest threat according to the Pew Center - and yet the we give them corporate technology, gobble up their toothpaste and bra-straps, and count on their banks to hold up the dollar.
The United States has plunged into a globalized world of gray where our enemies are allies and shopping is a national obligation. Where the government has failed to engage us, charitable organizations have stepped up to fill the gap. Americans without a model for civic engagement from above have built a model of civic engagement from below; volunteerism is presently at a 30-year high - in the state of Connecticut alone, the percentage of residents volunteering annually has risen over 90 percent since 1989 alone. Facebook's popularity, with its regional network model, is another exhibit testifying to a simple fact: far from wanting to be left alone, Americans are striving to become a part of their community.
When America alone is not providing for its peoples' interests, younger Americans are increasingly willing to live outside of it - if just for a time. Vacationing abroad is nothing new, but studying abroad, necessitating living deep within another culture, is a relative novelty. It's a novelty which is growing rapidly as well, airplane hijackings and anti-American sentiment be damned. Enrollment in programs abroad has risen 55 percent in the last five years.
All of this is connected, and none of it implies that the government should step back. Indeed, a future-minded party hack ought to be more than wary of ignoring a growing hoard of cosmopolitan, civic-minded young people, and outright terrified of advocating a laissez-faire domestic policy which would leave them holding the bag.
With foreign perception of America at an all-time low, our economy in the throes of Asian banks and the public growling with discontent, the time is ripe for a politician with a policy of engagement and change. America's young people may not vote in large numbers, but they've shown that they're willing to volunteer, to Teach for America, and to open their minds to other cultures. A wise politician ought to make use of that enthusiasm - to offer citizens a reasonable way to get engaged in dealing with the China issue, the global warming issue, the terrorism issue.
There are some noises that certain Democratic politicians are willing to ask of the American public what the American public is desperate to be asked. Obama's proposal for an "America's Voice Corps." made of up of speakers of local languages who would work to educate foreign populaces on America's strengths is a fine idea, as is Clinton's conception of a public service academy, essentially a West Point for the Peace Corps. Here's to hoping that more of the 2008 candidates are willing to step up with more ambitious proposals. The first of the primaries are drawing near, and the time for hedging bets should be drawing to a close. If yesterday's Democratic debate was any indication, however, there are a few more months of vacillation in store.
Weekly Columnist Bryan Murphy is a 3rd-semester economics major. His column runs on Fridays. He can be reached at Bryan.Murphy@UConn.edu.
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