A Word for Our Troubled Times

"A record high of adults—80 percent—believes that Americans are divided on the most important values. National pride, trust in government, and confidence in institutions are near record lows. The Princeton University historian Sean Wilentz says the United States hasn't been this divided since the Civil War. Nearly half of Americans think another civil war is likely in their lifetime."

"Individually, Americans are suffering from an 'epidemic of loneliness and isolation,' according to a 2023 report by former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. Depression rates have skyrocketed; instances for adults under 30 have doubled since 2017. Suicide rates have increased by 37 percent since 2000. Anxiety is rising. America is facing a youth-mental-health crisis."

"Shalom is often translated into English as 'peace,' which many people take to mean the absence of conflict. But its fuller meaning is something closer to human flourishing. Scholars have written that the word connotes wholeness and integrity, community and connectedness, righteousness."

America is experiencing unprecedented cultural division and individual suffering. Eighty percent of adults believe Americans are divided on fundamental values, with national pride and institutional trust at record lows. Affective polarization—distaste for those with different politics—shapes major life decisions. Simultaneously, Americans face an epidemic of loneliness, with depression rates doubling for adults under thirty since 2017 and suicide rates increasing thirty-seven percent since 2000. The nation confronts a youth mental-health crisis. Historian Sean Wilentz compares current division to the Civil War era. The solution lies in shalom, a biblical concept meaning human flourishing through wholeness, integrity, community, and connectedness—far deeper than mere absence of conflict.

Read at The Atlantic