Americans are dying of despair
A U.S. senator from Nebraska has a new book that makes two important and compelling arguments.
First, even though Americans are wealthier, more informed and better connected than ever before, too many are lonely — meaning unhappier, more isolated and less fulfilled.
“Them: Why We Hate Each Other — and How to Heal,” from Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., is about political divisions in the country. Sasse contends that our political problems stem in part from “the evaporation of social capital,” specifically a decent job and being part of a community.
Washington Post columnist George Will says Sasse believes that loneliness in “epidemic proportions” is the country’s biggest public-health problem — exceeding things like obesity, cancer and heart disease. Sasse reports that persistent loneliness reduces a person’s longevity more than twice as much as heavy drinking and three times more than obesity.
Loneliness is physically equal to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, the book says, and contributes to cognitive decline, which can include a more rapid advance of Alzheimer’s disease.
If accurate, Sasse is not exaggerating when he says, “We’re literally dying of despair.”
All this is happening in spite of the greater connectivity allowed by the internet — or perhaps because of it. Social media is great for staying in touch with old friends who live out of town. But too many people are addicted to their smartphones, and the price has been a decline in offline friends, if you can call it that.
The second point of the book is that the idea of work is in the early stages of “a staggering level of cultural disruption” that’s even bigger than the way the Industrial Revolution transformed America from a rural, agricultural nation into an urban, mechanized one.
The country has been greatly affected by the departure of many good jobs for lower-wage nations. But by one analysis, up to 50 percent of today’s jobs could be eliminated by existing technology. For example, driving is America’s largest job category. But with self-driving vehicles on the way, a number of those jobs will disappear in the coming years.
It’s early in the game, but reactions to the loss of community and jobs are evident. They include a political tribalism unlike anything seen in many decades and a growing descent into drug addiction.
Sasse notes Americans’ life spans have declined for three straight years. One reason is the growing number of drug overdose deaths, which now are claiming more lives than the number of soldiers killed each year during the Vietnam War. Actually, this is just history repeating itself: The pressures of the Industrial Revolution produced a sharp increase in alcohol use and alcoholism.
How to fix all this? Sasse wants Americans to develop “new habits of mind and heart” and “new practices of neighborliness.” Will is rightly skeptical that this alone will solve these problems, noting our relentless push forward.
Perhaps everyone can start with small steps, such as putting the smartphone down for a little while and getting to know a neighbor.
Jack Ryan, Enterprise-Journal
CVS-Aetna: A merger with significant impact
Drugstore giant CVS has received approval to buy Aetna, the country’s third-largest health insurance company. It may not be the most notable corporate merger of the year, but it is likely to be the one with the greatest impact.
CVS, which has stores in throughout the state, serves 5 million customers a day across the country. Aetna provides health insurance or related services to 22 million. Analysts expect the new company to turn more of its drugstores into clinics for basic medical services and patient monitoring.
CVS officials say the combination should help more Americans use their medication properly, thus keeping them out of the hospital.
In theory, the merger also should give CVS more bargaining power with drugmakers when negotiating prices. If this works, it could produce significant healthcare improvements.
Jack Ryan, Enterprise-Journal
