word cloud of answers to "What are your fears for the United States?"
Topic:
By Amy Ferguson

As an ongoing inquiry for our democracy initiative, we recently posted a poll on fetzer.org asking about your greatest fears for the United States. We received thoughtful and passionate responses from a variety of perspectives. We received advice, honest self-reflection, prayers, and helpful questions. We didn’t ask, but some of you told us about yourselves: that you’re parents and grandparents, history teachers, and immigrants. Someone even sent us a poem.

The responses fell into three main categories: issues and fears, things we need more of, and things we need less of (or perhaps can do without altogether).

ISSUES AND FEARS

Homophobia; racism; fascism; economic collapse; chaos; violence; income inequality; health of planet/environment; we have lost our souls; compromised leadership; social and political indifference; segregation; erosion of institutions (health, education, government, media etc.); gerrymandering; PAC contributions; lack of ethics; radicalism; socialism; governmental control; fears for future generations; leftism; progressivism; violence; bullying; dishonesty; climate change; attitudes toward the impoverished, people of color, women, LGBTQ people.

NEED MORE

Compassion, care for each other, civic virtue, moral leadership, sense of common good, understanding of how fragile democracy is, understanding of complex historical issues, dialogue, kindness to others (people and countries and planet Earth), instinctive kindness and optimism, diversity AND unity, respect, sustainability, humility, participation/speaking up, love, optimism, living life consciously.

NEED LESS

Violence in popular media, greed, biasing business over people, self-serving, self-indulgence, focus on individual, profit at expense of all else, behavior and actions that are unethical, fraudulent, immoral, narcissistic; intolerance, injustice, hate, biases, ideological assumptions, intolerance, ego, fear mongering.

Reading through these items might make you feel breathless. It might even make you a bit pessimistic. But it also reminds us where we are. This is especially true as we consider our future and what we can and should do. We need to assess how we are together. The responses, when taken together, almost seem to ask how we humanize one another. How can we hear each other above the din of our fears and the urge to explain our views? For us at Fetzer, we need to recognize the sacred beauty of each person. This is important as we strive for communal and societal life and the greater good.

DREAMING—TOGETHER

The American Aspirations project recently described common threads that weave us all together as a nation. They are our hopes and dreams for ourselves and this country. In their work, they asked people from all backgrounds, ages, political affiliations, and geographic areas in the United States to answer three basic questions.

1) What kind of person do you want to be?

When asked to rank personal traits that are “extremely important,” these were the top 5 responses and their corresponding percentages:

  • Responsible: 78%
  • Loyal: 70%
  • Hardworking: 69%
  • Family-oriented: 69%
  • Compassionate: 63%

Other traits that ranked 50% or more include self-reliant, fair minded, open-minded, generous, strong, patriotic, and optimistic.

2) What are your hopes for your life?

When asked to rank personal goals that are “extremely important,” these were the top 5 responses and their corresponding percentages:

  • Having a purpose in life: 73%
  • Enjoying life every day: 71%
  • Respecting people who are different: 70%
  • Having financial security: 66%
  • Living by strong moral principles: 65%

Other traits that ranked 50% or more include having the respect of others, making a difference in the world, and achieving financial success.

3) What kind of country do you want to live in?

When asked to rank national goals that are “extremely important,” these were the top 5 responses and their corresponding percentages:

  • Protecting individual rights and freedoms: 81%
  • Ensuring fair treatment for all: 79%
  • Maintaining law and order: 75%
  • Achieving equality for people of different races/ethnicities: 71%
  • Upholding moral standards: 66%

Other traits that ranked 50% or more include caring for the less fortunate and encouraging cooperation and compromise.

These forward-thinking questions and answers, taken together, put us in a place to imagine a flourishing and more sacred-minded democracy. This applies to us as individuals and as a group. Our common goals recognize the need for rights and meaning. They also value caring for the community. We must respect differences and ensure fair treatment for all. Our work will continue to explore these ideas as we support a democracy that enables us all to thrive.