Nobody knows what it means to be human, but the sensation of “empty spaces in our hearts” is apparently a core element of whatever passes for our “essence”. It is part of the creative force which (sometimes mercilessly) drives us onward, inward, or outward to transcend our condition and our “selves” So yes. We know we must do better.
And that starts by trying to see our situation(s) clearly even if that also is a Sisyphean struggle.
No. Loneliness is NOT tearing America apart.
No. Empty spaces in our “hearts” are NOT causing angry and divisive politics.
Nobody knows the secret to happiness, fulfillment, or the formation of a “beloved community”.
But deep down we know we are only as safe as the most threatened and marginalized among us. And deep down we know that “among us” does NOT just refer to people of the same skin color or who live in the same nation state jurisdiction.
The empty spaces in our hearts may not be CAUSED by a tiny idiot (0.1%) elite hoovering up more and more of the wealth of our society. But the anxious hateful greed that drives a minority to preserve and expand its control over our institutions IS the major cause of divisive, fearful, confused, and hate filled politics.
Our politics are so dysfunctional we cannot even take baby steps toward a humane inclusive healthcare system without creating a boondoggle for useless insurance corporations and multiple opportunities to divide us further by race and class and geography.
Our economy is so dysfunctional it depends ever more on a growing “underclass” of decent, honest, hard working “illegals” whom we oppress and torture in all sorts of ways and do not even quail at ripping their babies from their mothers’ breasts.
And then there’s Arthur C. Brooks. . . What the hell is he talking about?