America is moving toward becoming a better version of itself
&gt; What explains the gulf between most Americans’ hopeful outlook on areas and institutions they know directly and their despair about the country they know only through the news?<p>In their anthropological foray, they notice that people generally get along with local people in local contexts. That&#x27;s certainly true.<p>A lot of the acrimony, tribalism, and fear comes from the growing divisiveness of American culture at large.<p>The fact that The Atlantic needs to don some pith helmets and mix with the locals is itself indicative of the problem. Kudos to the authors for actually doing so, but these aren&#x27;t migrants trying to learn how to be American. These are people born and raised in America who are somehow on the outside of what The Atlantic considers to be America.<p>&gt; There is of course evidence that this has happened, in the form of the bigotry that has been unleashed since 2017.<p>And, ironically, The Atlantic ignores the bigotry [1] it contributes to the situation. The Kevin Williamson incident [2] is <i>very</i> recent and is literally a failed attempt to actually include different kinds of perspectives in The Atlantic. And it seems the institutes of journalism aren&#x27;t exactly interested, in general, in doing the journalism to accurately represent Williamson&#x27;s views on the matter [3]. By the way, Kevin Williamson is <i>from</i> these places and writes with a unique take on how these places are and how they could be better.<p>So when you live in these places and you see hatred for people like you, how are you supposed to be optimistic and excited about the prospects for your children and grandchildren?<p>[1] &quot;stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one&#x27;s own&quot;<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.dictionary.com&#x2F;browse&#x2F;bigotry" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.dictionary.com&#x2F;browse&#x2F;bigotry</a><p>[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wsj.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;when-the-twitter-mob-came-for-me-1524234850" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wsj.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;when-the-twitter-mob-came-for-m...</a><p>[3] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.weeklystandard.com&#x2F;kevin-williamson&#x2F;what-new-york-magazine-told-kevin-williamson-about-abortion" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.weeklystandard.com&#x2F;kevin-williamson&#x2F;what-new-yor...</a>