We've
touched
on
this
before
,
there's
a
strong
sense
in
much
of
the
developed
world
that
we're
headed
for
harder
times
.
Deficits
increase
.
Unemployment
rises
.
The
benefits
the
future
have
been
unevenly
distributed
throughout
society
.
It
is
not
just
in
voting
patterns
that
you
can
sense
malaise
.
You
can
see
it
in
the
economic
numbers
and
in
sociological
research
.
Here
are
four
examples
of
how
angst
in
the
developed
world
is
morphing
ominous
trends
that
will
have
a
profound
effect
on
our
economy
and
future
.
Anxiety
Takes
New
Forms
Angst
manifests
differently
in
different
countries
.
Think
of
Japan
:
Recent
research
by
the
Japanese
government
showed
that
about
30%
of
single
women
and
15%
of
single
men
aged
20
and
29
admitted
having
fallen
in
love
with
a
meme
or
character
in
a
game
?
higher
than
the
24%
of
those
women
and
11%
of
men
who
admitted
to
falling
in
love
with
a
pop
star
or
actor
.
The
development
of
the
multimillion
-
pound
virtual
romance
industry
in
Japan
reflects
the
existence
of
a
growing
number
of
people
who
don't
have
a
real
-
life
partner
,
said
Yamada
.
There
is
even
a
slang
term
,
?
moe
,
?
those
who
fall
in
love
with
fictional
computer
characters
,
dating
sims
allow
users
to
adjust
the
mood
and
character
of
online
partners
and
are
aimed
at
women
as
much
as
men
.
A
whole
subculture
,
including
hotel
rooms
a
guest
can
take
their
console
partner
for
a
romantic
break
,
has
been
springing
up
in
Japan
over
the
past
six
or
seven
years
.
(
The
Guardian
)
Is
it
any
wonder
that
there
is
a
dearth
of
babies
in
Japan
?
Young
British
women
are
literally
20
-
times
more
likely
to
have
a
pregnancy
out
of
wedlock
than
young
Japanese
women
.
The
cultural
oddity
of
moepartially
explains
that
fact
.
Families
Are
Splitting
Up
While
looking
up
this
topic
,
I
found
scores
of
just
as
concerning
statistics
.
For
instance
,
the
difference
between
the
income
and
employment
status
of
young
males
grew
up
in
two
-
parent
one
-
parent
homes
is
stark
.
Especially
you
realize
how
fast
the
number
of
single
-
parent
homes
is
rising
.
Less
than
half
of
US
children
live
in
a
traditional
family
setting
,
according
to
Pew
Research
.
Needless
to
say
,
what
a
profound
impact
this
trend
will
have
on
US
employment
and
household
income
.
Hope
Is
Different
In
his
first
inaugural
address
,
Franklin
D
.
Roosevelt
famously
said
,
?
The
only
thing
we
have
to
fear
is
fear
itself
.
?
In
1933
,
that
wasn't
even
close
to
true
.
They
had
to
fear
.
The
US
was
already
in
the
throes
of
a
depression
that
would
only
get
worse
.
War
clouds
were
forming
across
the
Atlantic
and
Pacific
.
Roosevelt
didn't
have
all
the
right
answers
,
but
he
did
one
thing
very
well
.
He
gave
people
hope
.
My
generation
heard
from
our
parents
how
FDR
helped
pulled
them
through
those
hard
times
.
Of
course
,
he
had
one
thing
today's
leaders
lack
.
Television
,
talk
radio
,
and
the
internet
weren't
always
telling
us
how
bad
things
were
.
We
didn't
know
or
care
about
the
private
details
of
our
leader's
lives
.
Social
Divisions
Are
Different
It
has
become
clear
we
are
breaking
into
tribes
based
on
how
we
consume
news
.
We
get
our
news
from
people
are
often
deep
in
the
same
ideological
bubble
we
are
.
This
only
strengthens
our
concerns
and
fears
.
If
you
think
Donald
Trump
and
Paul
Ryan
are
taking
us
in
the
wrong
direction
,
there
are
plenty
of
people
who
will
agree
with
you
and
tell
you
so
.
If
you
think
the
people
against
them
don't
get
it
and
are
distorting
the
truth
,
a
lot
of
sources
that
will
back
up
your
thinking
.
We
have
always
had
polarization
in
our
news
sources
.
But
it
has
never
been
so
ubiquitous
before
.
Or
so
extreme
.
The
news
has
never
been
so
readily
accessible
.
Numerous
?
tribes
?
can
live
in
the
same
physical
neighborhood
,
hear
different
versions
and
interpretations
of
the
problems
and
directions
in
our
country
and
the
world
.
There
is
no
unifying
national
experience
.
Just
a
disjointed
series
of
intra
-
and
intertribal
interactions
.