Kathryn Jean Lopez soars rhetorically in a worthwhile direction:
In response to some observations of Harvard sociologist Robert Putnam, Brad Wilcox has written: ‘The fragility of contemporary religious life in working-class and poor communities in America is rooted not only in the ‘economic hammer blows’ dealt to communities by the new economy, but also in the technological and cultural changes that have undercut the virtues, values and institutions that sustain churches, synagogues and mosques — including strong and stable marriages and families.’
Articulating policies that seek to avoid undercutting these pillars of American democracy must be the task of a presidential-election season. Everything else is a harmful distraction. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness cannot be just rhetorical flourishes; they must be rigorously protected as achievable goals. Politics isn’t a savior; it isn’t the dispenser of hope. But a campaign season can revive dreams; it can help hope float to the surface of our public discourse by highlighting what works and how political leadership can help, not hurt. It might even make for an uplifting magazine cover for a change.