The Conversation
How America Lost Its Mind
The election of Donald Trump, Kurt Andersen argued in his September cover story, revealed that a critical mass of Americans has become untethered from reality. Andersen also traced the roots of the exceptionalism that has turned the country into “Fantasyland.”
Kurt Andersen documents well how America has lost its mind, but only partly why. We live in a country whose history, economy, and culture have brought together people of many different races, ethnicities, and religions.
But diversity, one of our nation’s strengths, also creates tension. Culture is what allows us to make sense of the world. Travelers who experience culture shock know how disorienting it is when people say or do things that are not immediately intelligible, that don’t seem normal. So when Somali Muslims move in down the street, their neighbors may feel uncomfortable; the difference in their physical appearance, language, clothing, or music makes some residents feel they don’t know what’s going on, and that is disconcerting. It leads them to retreat, to insist that the world is the way they say it is no matter how many facts may say otherwise. Some point the finger at an easy target and want the source of their consternation to simply disappear. But that is the most magical of magical thinking, and this is why America has lost its mind.
I agree with Andersen that this story could have a happy ending. We need to become world citizens, and such a trend is already under way. Economics and emigration move people around the globe at a rate history has never before witnessed. Social media have their downside, but they also put the entire world in the palm of your hand. Diversity is becoming the new normal. Although adults today may look askance at those Somali neighbors, their children will not wonder about their clothing, language, or religion—only about whether they listen to Beyoncé and
