Unpeople Among Us

Dying of despair (overdose, alcoholism, overeating and suicide) has grown at an alarming rate over the last several years. Anyone can die of despair but let's consider white men without college degrees. Why are they taking their lives in such numbers? Why are so many seeing life as not worth living? What does this say about our society? Most importantly, what can be done? 

The world is changing, changing too fast for some to keep up. Gone are the days when a high school diploma was enough to secure stable, decent employment that one could use to start a family and buy a home. Good jobs that require little extra education have mostly been replaced by so-called "unskilled jobs." These are mostly low paying, unstable and part time positions. Getting by on this kind of work is a constant struggle of juggling schedules, maintaining transportation and putting up with the worst kind of bosses (and customers). It is a struggle pay check to pay check. I'd hardly call it living. Gone too are many of the things that create and enrich community life. Unions? Gone mostly. Neighborhood activities? Gone, replaced by the soul-crushing isolation of social media and twenty-four hour news cycles. Civic participation? Down. Engagement has been replaced by social media and twenty-four hour news cycle driven rage. People rarely talk with others who have different opinions / points of view. News and social media build silos of information that only further isolate us. 

This is fertile ground for Trump and Trump-like demagogues who make vague promises of a return to some by-gone era of ill-defined greatness. When things don't turn out so great, the problems only deepen. Being crushed by despair, many see only two ways out- violence or suicide (sometimes both). Rising hate crimes and growing nationalist movements are becoming more and more of a threat to peace and even free and fair elections. Suicides among white middle aged men is up, way up. Our myth of progress is each generation will live better / longer, make more money and and be the beneficiaries of uninterrupted progress. When this fails to happen, some take it as their own failings. "I'm less healthy, make less money than my parents. This so-called progress is a nightmare of isolation and a country I no longer recognize." Add on to these dark feelings, it's never going to get better. Can it get better? 

I don't know. We have to try. This course leads to a very bad place, just look over the blood-soaked hellscape of the last century. Now we have far deadlier weapons. We can have world war level destruction on a Wednesday afternoon. Let's try a different path... We can create a path that leads to a single payer healthcare system that our employers no longer have to pay for. We can add mental health to the yearly physical. Employers can pay better without the ever increasing health insurance premiums bleeding them dry. People can take home more money and do better even with "unskilled" work. We can create spaces for people to meet, work together and most importantly, connect with others. Neighborhood associations for helping each other, looking after kids, security and socials can be brought back. (Not HOA's that worry too much about how tall your grass is and other meaningless bullshit.) Unions can build connections and give people a voice in the work place. Clubs- car clubs, bridge clubs, sewing clubs, book clubs and more can also pull people away from the false connections of social media. Don't know of a club, start one! I'm not a religious type but churches, synagogues and mosques can be good for community as well. Take a pass on any that teach dehumanizing other groups. 

Deaths of Despair are avoidable. We can and must do better. If this post got you interested in learning more check out Anne Case & Angus Deaton, "Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism."