A ‘stressed’ America in crisis
It is strange to see events that we have experienced in this country happening in unexpected places – like the campus of Columbia University in New York, for example. It makes one wonder whether Greece was the first to be hit by an anti-systemic tsunami that is now sweeping across other countries.
What is certain is that the United States is reliving the 1960s. We see it in what major American universities are experiencing with the protests, the great polarization, and the battle over what is permissible to say and what is not. It is evident in the violence that dominates and, to some extent, has become routine in the public sphere.
The new generation is protesting over a war. But this is only the pretext. The main problem is that, for this generation, the “American dream” is much more difficult to achieve, if not impossible. Life has become hopelessly expensive. The job market is even more competitive while basic assumptions are now being questioned, such as whether an expensive bachelor’s degree from a good university is “worth” the money. What was taken for granted by the middle class is no more. The certainty that each generation will live a better life than the previous one has been replaced by complete uncertainty.
Younger Americans have experienced both the isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic and the social isolation reinforced by social media. Both have left an indelible mark on them. At this point in time, they are faced with a choice in the upcoming presidential elections that, not only does not express them, but repels them. President Joe Biden’s “steady hand” appears incredibly old to them, he cannot inspire them in any way. Neither does Donald Trump, because he represents all that is unethical and corrupt. The ballot box seems like a big political impasse for every young American.
All that is – thankfully – missing today is the assassinations and riots of the 1960s. Because we may talk today about political polarization and remember the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol building with horror, but let’s not forget that the US experienced the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy, and civil rights movement leaders Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, all within a few years.
The fact that the US has been through what it is going through today before – several times in fact – inspires us with optimism that it will overcome this crisis and its political impasses. There are, of course, many pessimists who believe that the common narrative and vision of the average American has been lost forever. They view the optimism of those who look to history for examples of periods of massive uncertainty that led to periods of dynamic recovery as metaphysical.
What is certain is that America today is in crisis and very “stressed.” The coming months will show whether it will slip down the dark path of greater division and violence. Chaos has proven to prompt big reactions, like the election of Richard Nixon as a response to the 60s. However, tomorrow’s leaders may lie among today’s student protesters, as it has also been proven in America that progress often comes from bottom to top, from those that challenge the status quo.
