Letter to the Atlantic: In 2022, Envision the World We Want

Dear Atlantic Editors, 

In 2021 I noticed a tendency for your articles to lean towards the doomsday scenarios (examples: Vulture Media; The Autocrats are Winning; January 6th was practice). I appreciate the focus on the things we need to watch out for, and although usually being struck into a place of fear by the titles, upon reading the articles they sometimes end up being solution-oriented. However, since we tend to get what we focus on, I have a suggestion for 2022: Focus on what you want to see, not what you don't want to see. 

We can spend a lot of attention worrying that Donald Trump will return. The more time we spend on that, the more likely it is to happen. Why not instead focus on some of the excellent Republicans who have shown true grit and leadership during the pandemic, who might make good leaders for our country? What about DeWine, Chief Justice John Roberts, others. 

Instead of focusing on the vulture capitalistic newspapers, why not focus on the new, emerging media sources that seek to be sustainable in this new environment, joint efforts to fund media that are working? The more we showcase what's working, the more other communities can emulate this. 

There are efforts all across the country to address our election issues. Strategies like Ranked Choice Voting are being taken up in a cross-partisan fashion, with red-leaning and left-leaning states adopting them in equal proportions, with the support of left- and right-leaning groups (Take Back Our Republic, Libertarian Party, Democratic Party, Virginia GOP, etc.)

Groups like Braver Angels are growing and now have membership in the thousands. Braver Angels brings reds and blues together to debate issues in a civilized fashion.

Electric cars are taking on a larger market-share. What's the prognosis for reductions in carbon emissions due to this? 

Focusing on the extremes of our nation causes people to be demoralized, to think there is nothing we can do in the face of all these polarizing forces. But there are things we can do, and they are simple and low-cost, and cross-partisan. Shining a light on these grassroots attempts to actually solve our problems will build them up, make them more likely to be successful. We don't need to completely abandon attention to the chaos, but we might find that more is actually working than isn't, if that's what we put our attention on.   

Sent a much shorter version of this letter to the Atlantic, January 21, 2022