People are exhausted. Pandemic fatigue, civil unrest and economic uncertainty have caused many Americans to flinch and government officials to flail. Political division has reached a level of exasperation that has many citizens disengaging from vital dialogue. No one seems to have sure footing to take confident steps forward.

The Census Bureau reported that in May the number of Americans showing signs of clinical anxiety, despondency and depression reached one-third of the population. Drug overdose deaths surged by 42%. 

In a Washington Post article exploring how the pandemic was impacting those dealing with addiction, the author’s noted, “As the pandemic has pushed massive doses of fear, uncertainty, anxiety and depression into people’s lives, it has cut off the human connections that help ease those burdens.” Those struggling with addiction are more isolated than ever.

The two authors, William Wan and Heather Long, visited Robert Ashford, who runs a recovery center in Philadelphia and who has been in recovery for seven years. “It’s when you feel alone, stigmatized and hopeless that you are most vulnerable and at risk,” Ashford said. “So much of addiction has nothing to do with the substance itself. It has to do with pain or distress or needs that aren’t being met.”

Mental health and addiction are just two indicators, of many, that should give the country pause. The future looks discouraging for many Americans and the challenges seem daunting. 

New York Times columnist David Brooks captured it this way: “A lot of people look around at the conditions of this country — how Black Americans are treated, how communities are collapsing, how Washington doesn’t work — and none of it makes sense. None of it inspires faith, confidence. In none of it do they feel a part.”

Brooks presented disturbing numbers on how disconnected and frustrated citizens are at this moment in history: “According to a Pew survey, 71% of Americans are angry about the state of the country right now and 66% are fearful,” he reported. 

Anger and fear, along with a heavy dose of isolation and angst, rarely combine to produce positive behavior in individuals, communities or nations. 

Failing trust in government leaders, faltering institutions of civil society, and fraying social fabric of neighbors and neighborhoods are alarming phenomena. How can a nation hope to have shared commitment to common goals in such an environment?

The power of America and its communities is only unleashed when citizens come together to take on difficult challenges or pursue audacious objectives.

Brooks continued, “If you don’t breathe the spirit of the nation, if you don’t have a fierce sense of belonging to each other, you’re not going to sacrifice for the common good.”

Local and national leaders must spark the spirit of the nation and ensure that every citizen feels connected to and part of a shared vision for the future.

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National pollster and Deseret News contributor Scott Rasmussen highlighted in his most recent column some lessons from the Broadway hit “Hamilton” that should be applied today. “It’s true that the disruptions of the past six months have been depressing and frightening,” he writes, “But it’s also true that they have opened a rare window of opportunity to reshape America. We should respond with all the gusto of Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda) singing: ‘I am not throwing away my shot.’”

Rasmussen concludes, “For me, the answer is found in the lyrics voiced by Phillipa Soo playing the role of Eliza Schuyler: ‘Look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now.’”

History is happening right now. Despite current challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health, addiction, civil unrest and economic uncertainty, there never has been a better time to be alive.

Leaders must lead by building trust and acting with transparency and accountability. That trust will enable leaders to inspire and call on citizens to step up to achieve common goals. Individual citizens must likewise stand up and be willing to make personal sacrifices for the common good. The result will be confident, positive steps forward for all.

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