I like that the author is going into how insecurity has caused this problem. I really wish they went into more depth on this issue. If we look back, neoliberali

I like that the author is going into how insecurity has caused this problem. I really wish they went into more depth on this issue. If we look back, neoliberalism (trickle down economics) has stoked the fires that have led to this issue. When Regan came into office, he set the stage for deregulation, privatization and tax breaks for the rich. This has caused the average American to sink into a role that is defined by economic insecurity. Of course this economic idiocy has been embraced by both political parties over the past forty years. So what we see today is a compounding of all of the issues created by bad policy. This is why we see people doubling down on in group identity and focusing on what I've come to call the brand self. This has noting and everything to do with Marx, Edward Said, the Frankfurt School, or critical theory. They are simply a way to justify an in group narrative. I'm not saying that these narratives aren't just, but often times they are create a black and white us vs them mentality that is there to reinforce limited self beliefs. So when we are talking to someone that has taken on this role of insecurity, we are talking to their anxiety that they've justified using sound social theory. That's why all rational thought seems to disappear and subjects often can't be changed. I, for one, am tired of biting my tongue because I know one wrong word can turn a great night out into a three hour conversation about x, y, or z social issue without much back and forth. often times I'll be out and know that, by simply saying the word vaccine, my night can be ruined. These conversations don't live in the rational world. They live deep down in a state of anxious insecurity.