HMN 2024: America’s Midlife Crisis |

The thirteenth-century poet Dante Alighieri, born in 1265 in Florence, Italy, lived in a era ravaged by civil war and conflict,. His great dramatic poem, The Divine Comedy. gives expression to the turmoil and confusion of that age.

The first line of The Divine Comedy begins, “Midway in my life’s journey, I found myself in a dark wood, where I had lost my way”.

This sounds a lot like the situation many people find themselves in, in twenty-first century America. Many of the certainties we depended on from earlier times have dissolved or evaporated.

Something has happened to us and we have lost our sense of community.

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has stated that America is in the midst of a loneliness epidemic. His research shows that 50% of the adults in our country now suffer from sustained bouts of loneliness.

Our proud motto and boast, E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, One) no longer reflects our current condition: We are splintered, fractured, and deeply divided, no longer one. It might more accurately be said: E Unum Pluribus—Out of One, Many.

Dr. Robert Putnam, professor of public policy at the Kennedy School at Harvard University, was an early chronicler of the changes disrupting our society in his book Bowling Alone. Putnam noted that, in a sport once dominated by raucous, competitive leagues, people who pursue the sport now are more likely to be bowling by themselves.

One irony is that the sport of bowling has never been more popular than it is today. But what was once a community sport is now a solitary activity.

The loss of community that Putnum documented is reflected in our political life. Our recent presidential election furthered the bifurcation and polarization of our society. Albeit by a fairly narrow margin, the American voters rejected a candidate who campaigned on a vision of unity in favor of one who targeted political enemies, immigrants, and others.

Thirteenth-century poet Dante Alighieri may be the one who speaks most accurately to our current malaise:

We are somewhere midway in our nation’s life journey; we find ourselves in a dark wood. And we seem to have lost our way.

© David Evans