(cont'd from yesterday's post)
"Steady work" used to be commonplace among Americans, but the nature of work has changed to a sequence of jobs that are not held long enough for relationships to mature. So one source of "people who know me very well" is gone.
A sense of belonging to a certain place - a sense of hometown - used to be commonplace among Americans, the feeling some still get at the "hometown gym on a Friday night," a love for neighbors and community. But how mobile are Americans today.
Author Arthur Brooks says, "I asked myself where I might get that hometown-gym feeling, where I have natural roots . . No specific place came to mind . . not even Seattle, my hometown, which is a perfectly nice place, but one I unsentimentally left behind 35 years ago."
Jobs and homes are often short-lived. Social media "friendships" are shallow. Americans need to be more intentional about building relationships and overcoming loneliness.
(cont'd tomorrow)
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