Introduction
I donāt think itās a secret to anybody that our country faces unique challenges today. You might even say weāre about halfway through a double-decker shit sandwich, served up to us by an outrage-driven media and a self-interested political class. An unprecedented global pandemic thrown into the mix certainly came as no help. Then there was a close election in 2020 in which red America got redder, blue America got bluer, and President Trump was replaced by Joe Biden, who took office along with a deeply divided House and a 50-50 Senate. America was split smack down the middle. Trumpās refusal to accept the result of the election not only cost Republicans the Senate but led to mob violence. It was painful to watch.
Americans are well aware that our government isnāt working the way that it ought to. In part, itās because of a cable news world in which controversy sells and outrage and rebellion are rewarded. In part, itās because of people who come to Washington intent on promoting themselves instead of working together. They claim to be true believers and purists, like the right-wing āFreedom Caucusā or the left-wing āSquad,ā but they really are just political terrorists, peddling chaos and crisis so that everyone keeps paying attention to them. And they can embolden actual terrorists, like the ones who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. That was a low point for our country, and it made me want to cry.