I don't often cite articles at The New Criterion. That said, James Piereson writes there about factors causing Americans "to 'secede' from the national enterprise." See his summary.
Americans in large numbers do not trust their government and do not feel pride in their country. They are acting out these attitudes by renouncing their citizenship, withdrawing from the public schools, arming themselves because the authorities cannot or will not protect them, leaving the workforce, and disdaining military service.
And the questions he believes the trends summarized above raise.
Can a nation prosper when its citizens no longer feel an attachment to the national enterprise? Can it even survive? These are important questions that are likely to be answered one way or another in the next decade or two.
In my view, his list of indictors of this "secession" are both accurate and serious. It is also oddly parallel to the "lie flat" movement in China. I wonder if we humans have entered a developmental cul-de-sac?
