Most of us are familiar with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, commonly called ADHD, one of those psychological tags we use to label someone who has trouble paying attention, moves and talks to excess, and often reacts to situations by impulse rather than reason.
These same symptoms describe the United States. Inundated by a flood of daily news and distracted by screens and social media, many of us race through dopamine-driven days, sprinting from one hit to another on our phones and computers. Scandals, corruption, and the ongoing battles in the culture war all snag our attention for a day or two, then vanish when the next story appears.
Add up these hundreds of daily diversions, and we’re bundles of distractions. Consequently, we pay more attention to the ripples on the shallows of the sea than to the tsunamis rising from the depths.
Here are three known cataclysms headed our way about which little or nothing is being done.
The U.S. National Debt
In 2016, the national debt was more than $19 trillion. Today that debt has more than doubled to $39 trillion.
Analysts have warned that this debt, which now exceeds our nation’s GDP, is a catastrophe in the making, leading to runaway inflation and the collapse of programs like Medicare and Social Security. Yet those responsible for fiscal health of our nation, as well as for the debt itself, the Congress, continue spending as if this enormous bill need never be paid. They talk about it occasionally, but they’re too frightened of voter response to take the necessary ax to the budget.
Our Failing Schools
Every week an article or two appears online lamenting the decline of learning in our young. I’ve written some of these myself. Though the news appears fresh, the decline is 30 years old, meaning that we now have many middle-aged Americans deficit in basic skills. A growing underclass of men and women illiterate in reading, math, writing, and civics, all of which are components of critical thinking, bodes ill for the future of our nation. When many people can’t read a pharmaceutical prescription or do comparative shopping in a grocery store, we can scarcely count on a citizenry prepared to understand the Constitution or the basic economic trials of our country.
While some individuals and governments have tackled this problem – Mississippi is one shining example of educational reform that has worked – this deficit, particularly endemic in our large cities, is swept under the rug.
Our Declining Population
In 2025 American birth rates hit record lows at 1.6 births per female. To sustain a population requires a birthrate of 2.1. A society which can’t reproduce itself is headed for inevitable decline.
Commentators point to all sorts of reasons for this reluctance to have children, from women waiting to marry and start a family after they’ve established themselves in the workforce to the economic costs of having children. But the real reason seems to be the breakdown in relations between men and women and an increasing antipathy toward bearing and raising kids.
What Then Can We Do?
Until we have a Congress with the spine to reform programs like Social Security and take an ax to government spending in general, the national debt will continue to explode. Other than voting and making our voices heard, individual citizens can do little to end this economic debacle. That’s a bitter pill to swallow, but there it is.
The problems with our schools allow more direct involvement, however. If nothing else, we can oversee the education of our children rather than abandoning them to failing schools. If they are getting a substandard education in American history, for instance, we can teach them history at home, relying on histories and biographies available in every public library or online to ease our way. Those parents who take control of their children’s education are not only giving their kids advantages in life but also contributing to the well-being of our country.
The same self-direction applies to families and population growth. Governments have a record dating back to the Roman Empire of failure in promoting population increase. The only real solution starts with us. We live in a society in which parents emphasize job satisfaction and financial security to children while rarely pointing to the importance of marriage, family, and children. Yet joy and the satisfaction of a life well-lived generally derive more from family life and a good marriage than from work. Focus on the family, and we can teach our children its benefits and goods. That is what it will take to restore families with two or more children.
The storms may come, but we don’t have to be the ones salting the clouds.
Jeff Minick is a father of four and grandfather to many. A former history, literature, and Latin teacher, Jeff now writes prolifically for The Epoch Times, American Essence Magazine, and his Substack.
This culture article was made possible by The Fred & Rheta Skelton Center for Cultural Renewal, a project of 1819 News. To comment on this article, please email [email protected]. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News.
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