MICHAEL COOPER: 10 resolutions that might make 2024 more tolerable
Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024 -- We are deeply divided and distrustful of institutions and our politics is based increasingly on negative partisanship (on hating the other side). That's unsustainable. That's what I worry about.
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The New Year has just arrived. It’s a time for making resolutions -- for joining a gym and waking up earlier. Sometimes those new habits stick. Sometimes they don’t make it past January.
The point is that we try to improve our lives. In 2024 we should do the same for our democracy. That’s what I’ve been thinking about.
That’s unsustainable. That’s what I worry about.
As a native of a small North Carolina town who moved to the Triangle for work, I have friends and family in both political tribes and I know the year 2024 – and its presidential election – is going to strain those relationships and test our democracy. The usual resolutions didn’t feel like enough. That’s why I put together a list that hopefully will get us through the year and make things better along the way. Here are those suggestions:
- Be informed but spend less time on social media. In a year like 2024 it’s critical that we stay informed. We should seek out a variety of sources and check them for veracity. Once informed, we should exercise our opinions less. We should spend less time arguing with strangers on the internet and more time engaging in healthy dialogue in the physical world.
- Get out of our bubble. We’re sorting ourselves by culture and education level and it’s pulling America apart. The answer is to bridge the divides in our society. That begins by associating with people we disagree with including coworkers, cousins, and classmates we’ve lost touch with.
- Build community. There’s an epidemic of loneliness that predates the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s unhealthy for us as human beings and unhealthy for our democracy (isolation leads to alienation and animosity). The solution is to restore our sense of community by going back to the office, finding “third places” and having more people over for dinner.
- Get involved locally. Elections are important. So too is what happens on our street. We shouldn’t feel helpless. We should do our part by volunteering, mentoring young people, picking up trash and planting a community garden.
- Find a sense of purpose. Americans are polarized in-part because we’ve treated politics as a source of meaning and fulfillment. Instead, we should get back to finding purpose in healthier places like faith, family, friends and meaningful work.
- Set an example as role models. Our institutions have turned into platforms for fame and wealth and instant gratification permeates our culture. We need better role models and it’s up to each of us to set an example by displaying the character traits of wisdom, humility, civility and moral courage.
- Have a sense of perspective. 2024 looks rough (a divisive election, war in Europe and now war in the Middle East). But we’ve been through worse (the Civil War and WWII). We’re living in a time of rapid change, and it’ll take society and politics a few years to catch up. But we’ll get through this too
- Be thankful. Despite our challenges we have much to be thankful for as Americans in the 21st century. We’ve got it better than the vast majority of people who have ever lived. A sense of gratitude will help us get through an unpredictable year.
- Be optimistic. There’s too much pessimism in America today. Too much scapegoating and fearmongering. Our greatest leaders (FDR, Reagan, etc.) were optimists. They made us feel better about the future. We need more of that spirit. We need to believe again that tomorrow will be better than today.
- Don’t forget to exercise. Much of what happens in 2024 will be out of our control. Focus on what we can control. To get through the New Year we should take better care of ourselves -- eating healthier and going to the gym. Or at least taking more walks and spending less time on our phones. Call it self-care or self-preservation.
This list of resolutions is not exhaustive. You probably have your own ideas. Nor should we feel required to adhere to them perfectly. Like any resolution, it’s aspirational. We know we can do better as a country and it’s important for each of us to try.
So, as we toast the New Year, let’s commit to making the most of 2024 and making America a better place to live.
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