American anxiety

We are consumed by anxiety. And it's making us miserable.

Uncle Sam.
(Image credit: Illustrated | KatarzynaBialasiewicz/iStock, Miodrag Kitanovic/iStock)

The United States is a country consumed by anxiety. This has been true for a very long time. But it's getting worse.

Be honest: You sense it in yourself. The vague mist of worry that always lurks in the background, ebbing and flowing through the day, the sense of creeping inadequacy that prompts you to work ever-harder. You can detect it in the agitated drive to do ever-more to protect those you love from an endless stream of dangers and threats — and in the urge to keep up with friends, acquaintances, and news online during almost every waking moment, perhaps even crowding out sleep, making it impossible to settle down or drive away the subtle sensation of insufficiency.

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Damon Linker

Damon Linker is a senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also a former contributing editor at The New Republic and the author of The Theocons and The Religious Test.