Disclaimer

The images in this article were generated by artificial intelligence. All writing has been produced solely by the human author.

I am not a writer, nor am I a politician, an economist, or a lawyer. I am a young man in college who is frustrated. I am frustrated because it feels as though everywhere I look, our country is crumbling, and everyone seems content with that. I am not.

The cover image of this opinion depicts John F. Kennedy giving a rousing speech backed by the liftoff of the Saturn V rocket, beginning its legendary voyage to the moon. Tragically, of course, Kennedy himself would never live to see the crew of Apollo 11 take to the stars and plant the American flag in the gray lunar dirt, but the imagery is still just as poignant. To me, it represents an aspirational age for our country. An age where we dared to dream wildly, where our leaders asked us to believe in the nation’s mission, a golden age of American idealism.

“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”

John F. Kennedy, 1962

The general feeling that I get from talking to people, both my age and older, is that this time has passed and that it isn’t coming back. The idea that the Pax Americana and the “American Empire” are crumbling seems to have taken root in so much of society, leading to an apathetic view from many concerning the future of the nation. Multiple people I know didn’t even bother to vote in the most recent Presidential election, and many would struggle to name who our lawmakers even are.

I believe that this disinterest is squarely at the heart of many of the issues facing our nation. The fact that millions of people, especially young people, currently lack the willingness to inform themselves on the happenings of the country has led to us continuing to elect aging and out-of-touch career politicians who serve self-benefiting interests. This then results in continued disinterest as people believe their government has ignored them, inevitably resulting in those same politicians remaining in power regardless of whether they are actually serving their constituents or not. It is a vicious cycle that everyone seems to accept, and few seem ready to actually challenge.

Of course, this pattern is not wholly true. You have seen, especially over the last five years, the rise of younger candidates pushing reformist ideals who have invigorated fiercely loyal bases and upset the establishment. Take newly elected New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. He ran on a platform of economic reform meant to lower costs for New Yorkers, proposing ideas like city-run grocery stores, frozen rent, and free buses, ultimately beating out New York heavyweight Andrew Cuomo despite huge national pressure from both the media and the government. But he is a very polarizing figure, and while his brand of democratic socialism may have sold for the millions of New Yorkers who struggle to pay rent, his far-left views simply won’t sell on a national scale. The same goes in Congress with people such as Bernie Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. They represent a devoted sect of the country that advocates for radical change, but they lack the general appeal to truly become national powerhouses.

That is why I believe a move back to the center is critical for continued excellence in the United States now and into the future. Since the 2016 election, the US has become more polarized than ever, with politicians increasingly preaching tribalism over unity and social media platforms pushing previously extremist political viewpoints into focus as a means to boost engagement. All this has served to do is divide normal people while making us less happy, more disconnected, and more willing to default to low-character stereotypes and assumptions of people we perceive as opposed to our views. Far left and far right politicians do nothing to unify the country, rather they serve as lightning rods for continued vitriol and as a source of approval for their supporters to attack “the other side”.  What the nation needs right now is a centrist leader who doesn’t fan the flames of either side but modulates the temperature, all while refocusing our efforts as a nation towards the great challenges we all face, such as the cost of living and debt crises domestically, and the proliferation of adversaries like China and Russia globally. Echoing the words of Kennedy, we should choose to take on these greater goals because they will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, bringing us together as one United States.

But how will we accomplish this? Some of you might argue that my idealistic hope for what this country could be is just as outlandish as the claims of any radical politician you see on the news every night, but I feel that with a few reasonable steps, this future is quite attainable.

Serving Your Country

I believe that one of the best ways to encourage buy-in within any group is when people have to dedicate time and effort to a task. Suddenly, something that just existed to them before now becomes something they own, that they feel a part of, and their commitment to its continued success becomes much greater. This is where I think the benefit lies in a form of national service.

Imagine this: all permanent residents of the United States must complete a set number of hours of approved government service between their 16^th and 22^nd birthdays. This service could range from filing for your local town government to picking up trash in the public park, and exemptions could be made for those who choose to serve in the armed forces. Requiring young Americans to complete something like 400 hours or about fifty days’ worth of work spread out over six years would not be a ton of effort and could be easily completed by dedicating just one day per week or perhaps a few weeks during a couple of summer breaks.

By requiring young people to complete a form of pay-free service, you are creating that investment in the community from an early age. When those same people become full adults, they will feel that much more ownership over their communities and country and will want to see it continue to prosper. Additionally, it brings together all young people, regardless of race, gender, or financial standing, to a place where they must all stand alongside one another doing the same amount of work for a collective good. Through service, we can connect our younger generation together while fostering investment in community and country.

Promoting Heartland Entrepreneurs

A sad truth is that so many college-age Americans are taking their amazing talents to massive multinational firms rather than striking out on their own to innovate new products. Every year, we are wasting limitless potential for creativity for the sake of a safe and secure life at a likely unfulfilling job for an employer who sees you as one of thousands of units of production. From the Declaration of Independence to the brave soldiers storming the beaches at Normandy, the nation was built on taking risk and the greatest among us made strong decisions in uncertainty that led to the greatness that defines the country.

I see this every day as an engineering student at a state school. People around me are so concerned with finding a job either for the summer or full-time that I think they miss the great potential they have within themselves. People who are not from Silicon Valley or the East Coast elite have just as much capacity to shape our economy through their ideas, innovations, and incredible skills. I believe they just need a little push to get them going. Instead of asking how they can join Tesla or Anduril or Apple, they should be asking how they can be next, how they can realize their dreams, and it is the responsibility of our leaders to foster this and make it a reality.

New Leaders from New Places

Along the same lines as inspiring our talent within to become the next innovators, a key to our country’s future prosperity is leadership at the highest levels that reflects all of America. Much of the reason that I think the country has gravitated to Donald Trump in two separate elections is due to the disdain that the average American feels for those who claim to represent them in Washington. For so many, they feel their lives are a million miles away from the goings-on in our nation’s capital, such that it’s like they live in a different country entirely. This, in combination with the feeling they are being looked down upon by the coastal elites, engenders hostility and a feeling that our country’s decision makers have left them behind, especially as policies continue to erode their wealth and ability to put food on the table for their family.

The remedy to this has to be more representation from places that don’t often get the attention of the national media. Why can’t a young boy from Boise or a college girl in Tuscaloosa go on to become a governor, a senator, or even a President? Look, I am all for an Ivy League education, and if you have the chance to go to Harvard or Yale, then by all means you should absolutely chase that. But the fact is that only one in five hundred people in this country (~0.2%) have attended an Ivy League school, and yet during any given Congress, more than 10% of the body has a degree from at least one of those eight institutions. Many of that 10% could never fathom the life of someone living in rural Indiana or the wilderness of Utah. It’s not their fault, but you can’t expect policy for all when not all are represented by the policymakers.

Thus, it is paramount that the next generation of people across the country know that they are needed to induce the change that will better our entire nation. Social media is the greatest connecting tool ever built, and it should be used to inspire those who would never have been called to action before. We have an amazing chance to leverage technology not to divide, but to galvanize, and it is the responsibility of everyone with an interest in this country’s success to do their part in this mission. Our nation’s enemies want to see us divided, and they toil away day and night to make you hate people whom you have never even met before. It is time to stop loathing your fellow American and time to search for your next leaders.

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“It’s the American vision of creating a new nation of free people, a country that would be a light unto the nations, and a shining city upon a hill.”

Ronald Reagan, 1988