“If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”
–Abraham Lincoln
Our democracy is in danger.
If you want me to talk about the Democratic Party, or socialism, or the Woke Mind Virus™, or if you want me to talk about MAGA, right-wing authoritarianism, and Donald Trump…there’s nothing I can say that hasn’t been said before. I’m going to move past partisan narratives and focus on problems both Republicans and Democrats have put on the back burner: severe political divisions and the national debt.
These issues aren’t personal or partisan. They are systemic and structural, which means they affect all of us. To ensure American democracy functions effectively, our representatives must be able to: (A) make laws, and (B) fund laws.
Right now, America is experiencing “affective polarization,” a destructive social phenomenon where two political factions hate, dehumanize, and refuse to interact with each other based not on political beliefs, but on personal identity. A diverse and personalized media landscape, skewed perceptions of who’s on the other side, and bad behavior by leading political figures are all key contributing factors. Its effects are devastating and clear. Toxic rhetoric like “fascist” and “communist,” alarming talk of “sedition” and “authoritarianism.” America’s longest government shutdown ever, glaring evidence of a dysfunctional system. Fractured relationships where two of my beloved neighbors refuse to talk to each other and my friends nearly come to blows over politics. Dehumanizing interactions, like one last year, when someone asked who I would vote for before they even knew my name.
We must stop this now or risk further damaging our relationships and our republic. Refuse to vote for divisive candidates. Seek out information and people who challenge your views. Think before you speak or post something online. Remember that being united doesn’t mean having the same opinions or identities, but the same purpose — to work together to improve our lives and the lives of our fellow Americans.
One thing that definitely isn’t improving our lives is the national debt. Treasury data from January 2025 showed the national debt at about 36.2 trillion. Today, it has exceeded 38 trillion — a nearly $2 trillion jump in less than a year. $38 trillion is a staggeringly large number — approximately 4,750 times the entire world population, 111,111 times the US population (US Census), and 111 times the wealth of Elon Musk (Forbes).
The Government Accountability Office reports that rising debt stagnates wages and increases prices for goods and services, while the Yale Budget Lab notes that it could have inflationary effects or cause interest rate hikes (which means loan prices go up). Rising debt fuels America’s ongoing cost-of-living crisis, which heavily affects young people through things like more expensive healthcare, housing, and (some types of) student loans.
And the more we go into debt, the less we can spend on key policies. According to Pew Research Center, interest payments on the national debt (about $880 billion) are higher than yearly payments for both Medicare and national defense (both about $874 billion).
Eventually, our government struggles to function, and there may be nastier economic consequences down the road. And historically, economic downturns have helped along extremist politicians and democratic collapse.
For the ordinary citizen, the debt is a bit harder to fix than political polarization, but there are ways we can help. We can vote (or encourage others to vote) for people who promise to lower the debt and deliver on those promises. We can petition our representatives — local, state, and federal — to take action to lower the debt. And someday, we can even run for office and tackle the problem ourselves.
Thinking about politics is exhausting — whether it’s hearing friends talk about the news, heated or uncomfortable political conversations over Thanksgiving, or remembering that everything is expensive now. But don’t tune out. Don’t close your eyes. Don’t forget that your voice matters.
