Are you skeptical of bipartisan dialogue and commissions that ignore differences in pursuit of the lowest common denominator “middle ground”? me too.
But there are good reasons to be fed up with a political culture so saturated with negative partisanship and mutual distrust that it becomes impossible to discuss our nation's most intractable issues. That's especially true for challenges that defy easy ideological categorization, such as social disconnection, loneliness, the harmful side effects of social media, family breakdown, and the curse of drug addiction.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who has worked on a personal campaign to bring these issues to the forefront of politics, says there is “a lot of room for effort between the right and the left” on these issues. He told me that he felt that there was.
This currently takes the form of a partnership with Utah's Republican governor, Spencer Cox, to convene a “national dialogue” on the promise of “restoring the common good.” A small group of prominent intellectuals and activists from progressives to conservatives held their first meeting in Utah on Friday.
It's worth pausing for news about a particular trial in New York and the ridiculous claim that the president doesn't have to follow the law to celebrate this effort to change politics.
Their initiative is important as a signal that parts of the left and right are reshaping politics around communitarian themes. By focusing on deep personal grievances, they contrast such misfortunes with the good news of a country where, as Murphy puts it, “unemployment is low, crime is down, and GDP is growing.” It also provides an explanation for the disconnect between. Many Americans rush.
Murphy and Cox first worked together out of a mutual desire to address the damage that cell phones and social media were having on children and teens. Along the way, they realized they shared “a common fear of feeling like this country is falling apart emotionally and spiritually,” Murphy said.
As grandiose or even theological as it may sound, it surprises Murphy and Cox, from “deaths of despair” caused by suicide or drug overdose to the collapse of communities bereft of economic purpose. The concrete forms of suffering suffered are tangible and heartbreaking. “Some of these counties had more opioid prescriptions than people,” Cox said in an interview, referring to rural areas of the state.
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Murphy emphasizes distinguishing their efforts from typical bipartisan meetings. “This is not meant to be a mild, milquetoast, let's all get along conversation,” he says. “This brings the right and left into a conversation about why so many Americans are feeling sick and the very big things we may have to work together to solve it.” That's what I'm trying to push.”
What could turn this conversation into a larger challenge to the status quo is the connection Murphy and Cox draw between the social disintegration often highlighted on the right and the economic injustice that engulfs the left.
Ian Marcus Corbyn, a philosopher at Harvard Medical School and an architect of the initiative, argues that this emphasis on the material roots of individual struggle distinguishes the communitarians of this era from their ancestors. He states that they are separate. “When you uproot the economic foundations of a community, family formation is disrupted and all sorts of social pathologies emerge, including substance abuse, loneliness, alienation, and antisocial behavior,” he told me.
Murphy talks about how “concentration of power is driving Americans crazy” and “nurturing a bipartisan coalition to break up the monopolies and big corporations that hold too much power in our economic lives.” He talks about necessity and the need to recognize that “some things are sacred.” A place where efficiency and profit should not rule. ”
Cox was a pioneer in calling for Americans to “dissent better” (meaning to debate substantively without disrespecting each other) and on “the proper role of government” in the economy. I expect there will be disagreements with Mr. Murphy. But Cox added, “He and I both agree that when there's a big economic change in a community, it leads to these desperate deaths, this sense of hopelessness that we're seeing.” “We will find out,” he added. Repairing social damage will require public action to “help build more resilient regions and economies.”
Murphy and Cox also have different (but not diametrically opposed) perspectives on the hotly contested presidential campaign behind their conversation. Murphy is an avid supporter of President Biden and believes he has pushed for a “transformative agenda.” Cox has criticized both Biden and former President Donald Trump. “We should nominate someone else,” Cox said earlier this year.
But both argue that the public needs to pay attention to the frustrations President Trump has exposed. “There's nothing else we can thank him for,” Murphy said. Cox said that for the country to move forward, it needs to figure out why so many voters used Trump as an opportunity to “throw a brick through the window.”
Democracies can collapse if they fail to address worsening social wounds. These bipartisan partners support the democratic project, insisting that we can no longer ignore them.
