Kerby Anderson

There are just a few things that hold America together. One is our common interests and ideals. The other is our social fabric. But you have probably noticed that the social fabric has been fraying.

Ben Shapiro wrote about this after attending the recent Super Bowl. People were wildly cheering for their team but weren’t attacking other people who were cheering for the opposite team. It was a perfect example of a “great American cultural celebration.” Unfortunately, such experiences are becoming rarer and rarer.

He then goes on to share his own experience, which is typical of the younger generation. News, information, and entertainment in his life (and the lives of most millennials) are personalized. What young people watch on their computers and smartphones is tailored to their tastes and interests. That means we no longer have the same cultural ground anymore.

The Winter Olympics may be one more common experience. But soon the events will be over, and Americans will retreat into their private spaces once again. The social fabric will once again fray since we don’t spend much time with each other and don’t have very many common cultural experiences. And when we don’t know each other and don’t interact with each other, it is easy to dismiss one another.

Arthur Brooks (American Enterprise Institute) talks about a study about discrimination against Chinese-Americans from the 1930s that illustrates this point. The study followed a Chinese couple as they visited hotels and restaurants across the country. They were only denied service once. The researcher then sent questionnaires to the various establishments asking whether they would serve a Chinese couple. All but one said they would not. Brooks concludes that, “People are more hostile to others in the abstract than they are when they meet them in person.”

There’s a lesson here. More communal events and shared cultural experiences are ways to re-stitch the social fabric.