Them

Bol

New York Times bestselling author and senator Ben Sasse delivers an intimate and urgent assessment of the existential political crisis facing our nation. Something is wrong. We all know it. American life expectancy is declining for a third straight year. Birth rates are dropping. Nearly half of us think the other political party isn’t just wrong; they’re evil. We’re the richest country in history, but we’ve never been more pessimistic. What’s causing the despair? In Them, bestselling author and U.S. senator Ben Sasse argues that our crisis isn’t really about politics. It’s that we’re so lonely we can’t see straight - and it bubbles out as anger. Local communities are collapsing. Across the nation, little leagues are disappearing, Rotary clubs are dwindling, and in all likelihood, we don’t know the neighbour two doors down. Work isn’t what we’d hoped: less certainty, few lifelong coworkers, shallow purpose. Stable families and enduring friendships - life’s fundamental pillars - are in statistical freefall. As traditional tribes of place evaporate, we rally against common enemies so we can feel part of a team. No institutions command widespread public trust, enabling foreign intelligence agencies to use technology to pick the scabs on our toxic divisions. We’re in danger of half of us believing different facts than the other half, and the digital revolution throws gas on the fire. There’s a path forward - but reversing our decline requires something radical: a rediscovery of real places and human-to-human relationships. Even as technology nudges us to become rootless, Sasse shows how only a recovery of rootedness can heal our lonely souls. America wants you to be happy, but more urgently, America needs you to love your neighbour and connect with your community. Fixing what's wrong with the country depends on it.

Bol Partner

New York Times bestselling author and Senator Ben Sasse delivers an intimate and urgent assessment of the existential political crisis facing our nation. Our culture has always had tribalism - different political parties, preferred media outlets, and shifts in positions when politically advantageous. But now our country is facing a far deeper, far more serious existential crisis. We’re reaching a point where we’ve lost faith and trust in the institutions that have held us together. Even more worrisome is that we’ve lost a shared sense of truth. What happens to a nation when half of us believe different facts than the other half? In Them, bestselling author and U.S. Senator Ben Sasse argues that the problem is far deeper than politics or even any one politician. Across the nation, local communities are evaporating. The basic framework for everyday life - family, work, neighborhoods, friends, trust - is collapsing or, in the case of work, being vastly redefined. Our citizens have become alienated from each other, angry, and lonely. As our traditional tribes are falling apart, Sasse argues, frustrated and displaced Americans are trying to fill the vacuum with Anti-tribes on social media and cable news, surrounding ourselves with people we already agree with and identifying a common enemy. We are stuck in a loop of loneliness, outrage, and anger. Sasse offers his own prescription for addressing this challenge, calling for a radical effort to rebuild and remake the institutions that are foundering within communities and a nationwide discussion and understanding of just how monumental this challenge is.

Amazon

Pages: 288, Edition: Reprint, Paperback, St. Martin's Griffin