America Lost: Stories of Troublesome Times

We have arrived at a moment when it's imperative to ask: What is and what would we choose to be the voice of America? The stories in this collection were written with that question in mind. They encompass several themes, chief among them aging and the play of the past upon the present. Prospects were bright as this decade opened. However, there were ample reasons for the ill-ease that these stories dramatize: slow but inexorable growth in wealth disparity; the burgeoning cost of health care coupled with its increasingly corporate, mercantile nature; growing concern for the viability of federal safety net programs; an evolving environmental crisis instantiated by storms, droughts, and fires; the risks implied (and recently demonstrated) by increased reliance on foreign goods coexistent with a decline in domestic productive resilience. The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and the associated economic difficulties have been life changing for many. It has been projected that substantial recovery will take years rather than months. If so, further, profoundly negative impacts on expectations and, therefore, attitude will follow, with vast segments of society facing fears and uncertainties that had once afflicted only a few. Social disturbances, whether orchestrated or spontaneous, should come as no surprise. It is hard not to feel that we may be on the cusp of a major transition. The national character with which we are familiar - democratic capitalism - may be poised for fundamental not cosmetic modification. That confidence in the nation's prospects has been shaken, especially among the young, should alarm us. Broadly shared economic advancement and democracy reinforce each other. They may, in fact, be crucially interdependent. The longer it takes to emerge from this morass, the more likely it will become for that disaffection to expand and yield a loss of popular support. Such is fertile ground for autocracy and a natural instigator of the situations fictionalized in this collection. Works offering a lighter touch, such as my "Nuts" fable and the musical parody "*** TRUMP *** In Three Acts," would be more pleasant to read. Sadly, however, the world isn't a very pleasant place right now. In addition to a viral onslaught and financial disarray, recent and politically inspired attacks upon democratic principles have damaged out national stature. These demand a thoughtful examination of the world as it is, an analysis based upon verifiable fact not dogma and tempered by accepting that others have as much value as one's self. That, however, will require leadership that reflects a desire to serve facilitated by but not dominated by a desire for advancement. Where the current financial and public health crises are taking us is difficult to discern. History teaches, however, that we should not be overly sanguine simply because of prior success. "This, too, shall pass" doesn't mean reversion to the mean. That may be overly optimistic; the future can differ significantly and permanently from the past. The mismatch between what is implicitly promised and what can be explicitly attained has been exposed. There can be little doubt that this will become progressively more pressing. Whether from feeling demonstrably deprived or simply from the fear of losing privilege gained, many will experience enhanced levels of stress. A bloom of widespread, already rooted anomie is the inevitable result.