"I find this essay to be incredibly simplistic.
You blame the increased suicide rate on the diminished role of religion in our lives and a lack of “neighborliness” with our neighbors? Really?
Just off the top of my head, here are a short list of factors you did not consider:
- The worst income inequality our country’s seen in a CENTURY.
- Most Americans — and statistics back this up — dislike or literally hate their jobs... Which they find meaningless.
- Millions are working 2 and even 3 jobs on starvation wages.
- Millions of Americans are overwhelmed with student debt.
- Our country has no guaranteed paid parental leave.
- Our for-profit health care system leaves millions uncovered — and millions more “covered,” but unable to afford to actually use their coverage.
- Unlike all other major countries in the world, we have ZERO guaranteed paid vacation.
- We work too much — we work longer hours than almost any other industrialized country.
- Because of this sad fact, what time we have left over for leisure and spending time with family and friends is severely limited.
- We have a deeply corrupt political system in which all of us recognize that it’s only the super-rich and corporations who get what they want — decade in and decade out. - We live in the Wild, Wild West of “anything goes” for corporations — including raping our environment and monopolizing... resulting in higher bills for us, less innovation, little to no competition and so forth.
Need I go on?"