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“The more I read the papers, the less I comprehend. The world with all its capers, and how it all will end.” These are Ira Gershwin’s opening lyrics to Our Love Is Here to Stay, written in 1938. Now as well, the world order seems to be unraveling as we sit down for morning coffee.
My fear is not that America and other free nations lack the power to contain totalitarian threats. What scares me is that America is weakened by distrust. The strength of any culture and coalition comes not just from aligned interests, but mutual trust. Take away trust, and commitment becomes tentative. To be strong, any group must be bonded by belief in each other.
The bad guys know this. They like it if the U.S. acts like a bully, because that fractures alliances and undermines our moral authority. China, Russia, and others also sow division within America, hacking our culture using social media. America can’t be strong abroad, they know, if we’re weak at home.
Social trust is a barometer for the health of society. A trusting society is more energetic, more collaborative, and more hopeful. America, unfortunately, is going in the wrong direction.
Social distrust is a kind of cancer, causing gears to grind ever more slowly. David Brooks, in his farewell New York Times column, connects Americans’ “loss of faith” in each other with their loss of hope for the future—over two-thirds of Americans say they no longer believe in the American dream.
How does America pull out of this downward spiral of distrust? Accepted wisdom is that America is just too diverse. But America has thrived with diversity since the latter half of the nineteenth century, and surveys suggest that Americans of diverse backgrounds still share basic values such as truthfulness, reciprocity (“Do unto others …”), and respect for the common good.
Washington used to be petty and inept. Now it’s a roller-coaster. What will Trump do tomorrow? New York too. Is the “warmthof collectivism” promised by Mayor Mamdani a precursor for class warfare?
Americans are right to want a new vision for governing. But the political instinct for radical cures ignores a main cause of public frustration—the inability of government to do almost anything sensibly.
Sooner or later the focus on affordability will shine the spotlight on how government spends taxpayer dollars—almost 40% of GDP is spent by government. How much is wasted, how much productive initiative is stymied, when government is effectively unmanageable?
In Saving Can-Do, Common Good Chair Philip K. Howard unlocks the quandary of populist resentment and also of broken government.
America is flailing in legal quicksand. The solution is a new governing framework that allows Americans to roll up their sleeves and take responsibility. We must scrap the red tape state. What’s required is a multi-year effort to replace these massive failed bureaucracies with simpler codes that are activated by people using their judgment. As America approaches the 250th anniversary of the revolution, it’s time to reclaim the magic of America’s unique can-do culture.
Saving Can-Do was published by Rodin Books on September 23, 2025.